The Viper of Konoha
by RinneganSage
Summary: Naruto thought a ninja's life was of a hero, rescuing pretty Princesses and the village from enemies. Zabuza however showed him there was much more to being a Shinobi. Is it protecting a village that despises him? A team that hates him? A sensei who doesn't train him? And a pink haired friend that hits him every time he asked her out? Will he find out what it means to be a Shinobi?
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO.

* * *

'What is a shinobi?'

Naruto was truly stumped by the question. In the Academy, they had been told that a ninja protects the village and everyone in it, the Will of Fire. They had been regaled with tales of glory and power of all the previous Hokages.

Naruto's favourite was of course, the Yondaime Hokage. He was a hero. Plain and simple. And the whole village agreed on this fact. He saved the entire village by defeating the Kyuubi and giving up his life in the process. In fact, he may have been the one to defeat the Kyuubi, but he wasn't the only one to die. Many had that terrible night.

So, Naruto was convinced he would a super awesome ninja saving Princesses from evil monsters and save the day.

Team 7's most recent mission was instrumental in showing Naruto that he wasn't as godlike as he had previously believed. Hell, it had been such a shock that it had shook Naruto's whole perception of what a shinobi even was?

Sure, in the heat of the moment and at seeing Zabuza dismiss Haku's sacrifice so easily, he had given him a well-deserved speech about a ninja protecting those precious to him and doing the right thing?

At first, he had believed himself the hero and Zabuza the evil, bad guy. But now, having been through the mission, the sun-kissed blonde ninja in the orange jumpsuit can safely admit – though he hated being wrong – that his belief had been terribly childish.

Why had he thought himself the good guy and Zabuza the bad guy? Just because he was from Konoha, does that mean he was the good guy? After all, wasn't Zabuza just taking the mission like team 7 for money? And unlike Team 7, Zabuza had more noble intentions. To free his country and village from the tyranny of the Mizukage?

Again, Zabuza's words about being a shinobi rang in his head. 'When you've hovered between life and death that it doesn't faze you, then you can be called a Ninja. When you've become so deadly that you profile has been entered into my bingo book, then you may have earned the title ninja.'

He had believed himself godlike. It had only taken one him one look at the likes of Zabuza and Haku, even his own sensei fighting to know that how terribly outclassed he really was. That only meant one thing, he was nowhere near ready or worthy to call himself a ninja.

Additionally, even Kakashi-sensei hadn't objected when Zabuza had told them that shinobi are just tools for the village. To use and to be used. Is that really what he was? A mere tool? No, that can't be it.

The Yondaime was no tool! He was a hero!

All this deep thinking was driving Naruto's head in.

'Ugghhhh!' Naruto grumbled to himself, grabbing his head. 'I hate this,' he said, walking without thinking through the park he usually walks in.

As usual, the team training today had been fairly useless. All Kakashi had told them was to focus on their basics whilst he sparred with Sasuke!

Che! What was so special about him anyway? And what's with that creepy, Sharingan eye? So, what that Sasuke has it? Naruto deserved training too. Granted, he wasn't as godlike as he had first thought but he was still better than the teme, hands down!

Granted, Naruto didn't know how he had kicked Haku's ass when the older girl-looking boy was so faster and better than him. But still, he had done it.

He should be the one being rewarded with training. Not stuck up duck-butt hair. He didn't even know why so many girls liked Sasuke! What Naruto wouldn't do for that kind of attention. To be fair, there was only one girl he liked but every time he even asked her out, it proved to be a painful mistake!

Sakura might not look strong but damn, her punches hurt like hell. And if he was being honest, he was getting a little tired of being her punching bag. He didn't even know why she hit him like that everytime! Did she hate him that much? Or was he really that annoying?

Ever since he could remember, the villagers had treated him like utter crap. True, the beatings at their hands had decreased over the years since he had gotten much faster and can outrun the mobs who organise the fox hunt.

That was another thing he couldn't figure out. No matter how much he tried to reason it, he couldn't see a reason for the villagers' hatred. Sure, Mizuiki-teme knew it but before he could even say it, Iruka-sensei had stabbed him and nearly killed him. And then he was arrested by those mask-wearing ANBU ninja.

They looked so cool. He had to admit. With their matching uniforms, cloaks and masks, they looked super awesome.

And every time, he even asked the Sandaime, the old man replied with the same twinkling eyes and the answer, 'People hate what they don't understand Naruto-kun. Someday, they will come to see you for what you are.'

What help was that? Sure, the old man sometimes hung out with him, eating ramen and fish they caught from the rivers but that was when he was young. Even that had become less and less over the years.

Haku had told him that to become strong, he needed to fight to protect something precious? But then, what did Naruto have that is precious to him. The wave mission had opened his eyes in ways than one.

Naruto had thought that his team was coming to accept him. But even after defeating Zabuza and Haku and then Zabuza killing Gato, all Sakura was worried about was teme. Even Kakashi sensei had berated Naruto a lot on not thinking properly before acting and not working properly with Sasuke.

Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke. Everything just had to be about him! Ugh, it drove him insane. Team building exercises. That's what they waste time on every training session they have. And it's not like they work anyway.

Their teamwork was worse than before they went on the mission to Wave. And everyone was convinced that it was his fault somehow. What is he supposed to do when Sasuke is still a big jerk, and that Sakura fawns over him instead of trying to work with Naruto?

What was he trying to protect that was so precious to him? A team that dislikes him? A sensei that doesn't train him? The villagers that despise him for some unknown reason? Naruto was well aware that he now moping and sulking, rather like Sasuke but right now, his perceptions of the village and his beliefs about what it meant to be a shinobi were going through a major setback.

He was lucky he wasn't freaking out. Or shouting at the top of his lungs. Naruto could admit that he had a tendency to do that. But that is usually when someone puts him down or ridicules his own super-awesome dream of being Hokage.

He just couldn't stand for being ridiculed like that. At first, he thought the girl Hinata was cool. That she could be his friend. And for a while, it looked like it was true as well. Kakashi sensei had sent his dog, Pakun to get reinforcements from Konoha when it looked like Zabuza was still alive.

As a result, the Sandaime had sent Team 8 under Kurenai-sensei. She was one hot woman! Naruto had to keep his eyes off of her multiple times lest he get distracted by those weird thoughts.

But he had been beaten up by Sakura too many times to know looking at an older woman, a Jounin, no matter how beautiful would end up with him in pain. Regardless, after the battle on the bridge, Hinata had even rubbed healing salve on his wounds.

That was the first time Naruto had anyone worry about him. And it had warmed his heart. And like the fool he was, he had entertained thoughts of being Hinata's friend. They had even trained a couple of times whilst Kakashi-sensei was recovering.

But then, he and Kiba had gotten into an argument about which of them was stronger. Naruto had held such high hopes that after all his training, tree climbing and even defeating Haku, Hinata would see that he had improved since his time in the Academy.

Granted, she had been knocked out during his fight with Haku but she had still agreed with Kiba. Even though she had apologised to Naruto, she had said that Kiba was stronger of the two. Maybe she was just being loyal to her teammate. Who knows? But in the end, she had turned out like the rest of them. Just like his own teammates. What a disappointment!

So, who was precious to him? All of a sudden, Naruto was falling like something had tripped him, nose first into the ground. 'Ow, ow, ow,' Naruto grumbled, holding his bruised face as he looked up and there was nothing in front of him that could have tripped him.

'Are you a shinobi?' someone said, making Naruto turn around.


	2. Chapter 2

'Are you a shinobi?'

Came the voice from behind him, making him turn around. Perhaps, he should have kept his temper, but upon seeing the villager like the ones who usually ridicule him, all his anger and frustration that Naruto had been bottling up, came to the surface.

His normally smiling face adopted a look of rage, knowing that this old man was going to shout at him for being a demon brat – who knows why – and he yelled, 'Of course, I am! Are you blind, old man!'

Sheesh. What a stupid jerk. Not even asking him if he was okay when Naruto stood there, clutching his broken nose which still oozed blood.

What a nightmare. And how the hell had he fallen anyway? There was nothing in front of him?

Was he getting so clumsy that he was tripping over his own two feet, now?

'I don't know,' the man continued. 'You neither have your headband, nor do you look like a shinobi.'

Ugh. That did it! It's not his fault he lost his headband in the fight against Haku on the bridge!

'Stupid, old jerk!' Naruto whipped his head around, 'What do you know about being a shinobi anyway! I am NARUTO UZUMAKI. AND I WILL BE THE GREATEST HOKAGE EVER! BELIEVE IT!' he shouted, pointing his thumb at the grizzled old man.

He was feeling confrontational and this jerk was the first one to bother him when he was busy thinking about important thing. So, he was going to bear the brunt of it.

But unlike what he had been expecting, the old man merely raised one eyebrow at him. Even through that, nothing about his expression changed. For all it looked like, it was as If the man was seeing through him.

That if anything bothered him and his anger rose. How insulting!

Naruto marched up to the man and glared in the man's eyes. Or eye, as it were. Now that he saw it, half of the man's face was covered by bandages, including his right eye. As was his right arm, in which he held a wooden walking stick.

Perhaps, he might have been a shinobi at one time. But a shitty one obviously if he got himself beat up like this.

But the man didn't laugh at him like the rest of the villagers did whenever he proclaimed his dream of becoming Hokage. Maybe he was deaf as well? Or hard of hearing at least. Wouldn't be that surprising given his injuries.

'Well?' Naruto asked impatiently, narrowing his eyes at the grizzled old man.

'Well, what?' the man asked, his face impassive as always. 'It is clear you are not a ninja,' the man looked Naruto up and down, and for a moment his face adopted a sneer that Naruto had seen many times in the faces of many people. And he hated it.

'There's nothing wrong with my jumpsuit!' Naruto insisted, indignantly. 'Orange is great!' Okay, maybe that wasn't exactly the reason he was fond of his jumpsuit, but the point still held.

'If you want to get killed, yes,' the man replied without any hesitation.

'Yeh well, I don't care what you think, old…,' Naruto turned to leave but something caught his sight. Or scent, as it were.

He couldn't explain it, but ever since the battle of Wave, his sense of smell had increased by quite a bit. Nothing as extreme as an Inuzuka but it was noticeable. And his improved nose told him that someone was near.

Near but he couldn't see them. Which instantly put Naruto on edge. He had been attacked by idiotic villagers too many to be at ease with one of them. Especially whilst alone in said park, which he could have sworn had quite a few people strolling about.

Something fishy was going on here and Naruto didn't like it. There was a distinct smell of lavender in the air.

There! Something just moved in the shadows, by the trees, a few meters behind the bench the old man was sitting on. Whoever it was, Naruto couldn't sense them. Neither could he see them.

But they were there nonetheless. Naruto's hand inched towards his kunai pouch. He reeled back in shock as he felt for it on his leg. It wasn't there!

What the hell was going on?

But then the man spoke again, 'It seems you learnt nothing from Kakashi after all, Naruto Uzumaki.'

Naruto whipped his head around to shoot a glare at the man, now certain this creep was up to something.

'How do you know he's my sensei?' Naruto said, readying himself to fight at any moments notice. This was getting creepier by the second.

'I never said he was your sensei,' the man nonchalantly, as if discussing the weather.

'What the…,' Naruto started, then rubbed his hand on his forehead. He didn't have time to deal with this senile old man. 'You just said… You know what, forget it.'

Usually, Naruto was never one to run away from a challenge. Or a fight. But his recent mission had really put him on edge. And made him suspicious and untrusting of his own abilities. For the most part.

'I said you didn't learn anything from Kakashi,' the man added. 'I never mentioned him being your sensei, boy. That information, you gave me yourself.'

Naruto added his azure eyes at the man, glaring angrily. 'Why you!' He hated being used. And this man had done it so seamlessly and effortlessly that made Naruto's blood boil.

'What is a shinobi's greatest weapon?' the man asked, cocking his head to side and leaning on his stick, looking at Naruto curiously.

Why was he asking him such basic Academy questions anyway? Iruka sensei had literally beat it into his head. 'His mind, duh!'

The creep had the audacity to shake his head, 'No. Think it through.'

What? What did he mean no? Stupid, old man doesn't know shit. Why was Naruto here anyway, arguing with the fool?

'Of course, it's his mind,' Naruto exclaimed, waving his arms around. 'Other weapons like kunai, shuriken or swords are just tools.'

Still, the old man just shook his head, 'Repeating your answer will not make it right.' He was really starting to get on Naruto's nerves.

'Che whatever!' Naruto waved his hand and prepared to leave but was once again halted by the man.

'Sit!' the man said, motioning to the empty seat in front of him.

Naruto hesitated for but a moment. This man may have been a shinobi at one time but he was too old and too injured to do anything now. And if he tried, Naruto would hand him ass withered ass.

The man with the cross on his chin pointed to the board on the wooden table in front of him. 'It's called Go,' he informed him. 'Do you know how to play?'

Naruto sat there dumbfounded. What the fuck was going on? Where did the board suddenly come from? He could have sworn there was nothing there just a minute ago. And the man hadn't even moved.

Very clearly, something was wrong and Naruto had absolutely no idea what was going on? How come things were just appearing out of nowhere all of a sudden?

Did it have something to do with this weird board game that he had seen Shikamaru playing sometimes in the Academy? All Naruto saw a wooden board with a lot of boxes, and two bowls of pebbles, one filled with black and the other white.

Remembering that the man had asked him a question, Naruto forced himself to reply, ignoring the weirdness of this encounter for now, 'No.' He shook his head.

The man hadn't done anything remotely threatening but something about him just screamed dangerous. Though Naruto had no idea why. Maybe it was his emotionless face, or perhaps it was the way he sat completely still, yet still looking relaxed, somehow.

Whatever it was, it gave Naruto the distinct impression that the man had forgiven his earlier petulance but was not to be tested further. And that doing so would be hazardous to his health. And not knowing why he got this impression bothered him even more.

All in all, the blonde boy sat opposite the old man deeply uncomfortable, and not a little perturbed. The distinct lack of wind which had been there before and which he had definitely noticed increased his tension further.

The man had seemingly expected his lack of knowledge in a boring game and quickly summarised the rules for him. Basically, he had to get the most points by the end of the game to win.

'To get points, you capture opponent's stones, called Prisoners or capture empty territories,' the man told him as he placed black bead on his side and then revolved the board around so they were facing Naruto. 'You place your stones on the intersections. The intersections around them are called Liberties and when they are taken by your enemy, the prisoner surrounded is captured.'

Ignoring the distinct impression that this meeting wasn't by chance, Naruto nodded, and the game began. Ten minutes in, he had lost when all of his territories and prisoners were captured, with Naruto having no idea what had just happened.

'Again,' Naruto proclaimed and they reset the board.

Starting with only four pieces yet again, they set off.

'Who are you?' Naruto asked, when the man captured his primary territory yet again, just after he had managed to capture two of his prisoners. Every move he made seemed to have been for nothing.

For the first in the half an hour or so since Naruto had been talking to this strange man, Naruto saw his crooked little smile. And it creeped him out further. 'You tell me, Naruto Uzumaki.'

Ughh. He hated board games, and he hated mind games. And they seemed to be playing both. 'How the hell can I tell you. I don't know you!'

The man sighed, 'Seems you really didn't learn anything from Kakashi. As talented as he is, it is a wonder.'

Naruto bristled yet again, not liking this at all. 'Hey! I defeated Haku in Wave! And I mastered tree walking in only two days!'

The man smirked and shook his head, 'What is it that Kakashi keeps saying to you genin?'

Naruto glared at him as the man captured leaned forward and captured two more of his prisoners. Damn it. He hated losing. Even if they were playing on a seemingly easy but very complicated board game.

Naruto spit out the first thing that came to his mind, not knowing why the man was seemingly questioning him, 'Look underneath the underneath.'

Kakashi had said it so many times that Naruto could even hear it in his sleep nowadays. But he still didn't know what the hell it even meant. Trust his lazy ass sensei to talk in cryptic language that he didn't get.

The old man nodded, 'Good. At least you know something.'

He had just about had it with his constant ridiculing statements when he realised that this creep was testing him. Who was he to test the most amazing genin in the rookie nine?! The man merely raised his eyebrow at Naruto, obviously expecting him to continue.

Oh, what the hell. Since he was already playing this creep's game, why not go all the way and see what the hell he wanted with him. He was getting tired of being defeated in this game anyway.

'You're not a civilian,' Naruto started, looking at him squarely in the eye.

'Oh,' the man said. 'Why is that?'

'Other than the fact you seem to know Kakashi-sensei, you also know what tree walking is. You've obviously also heard what happened at Wave or you would have asked who Haku was. And I sense that this meeting was not a coincidence.'

'And?'

Naruto knew there were other signs as well. 'You asked me a question they teach us at the academy.'

'I could have just heard about it,' the man replied, waving his one good hand.

'I dunno. Your injuries suggest that you are a retired ninja. And that you got your ass handed to you by someone,' Naruto added, leaning back. 'Your eyes… eye is too sharp. And you seem to think you know what a shinobi is.'

'Good,' the man nodded, seemingly satisfied with his answer. 'But not good enough. Now let me tell you what I realised in our meeting. You have pathetic knowledge of the basics. You didn't pay enough attention in class or perhaps your knowledge was sabotaged and you did nothing to correct it.

You give information much too easily. One merely has to get you angry. For example, all I said was you didn't learn anything from Kakashi. It was you who supplied the information that he was your sensei. You yourself gave away the information on your current skill level and even your most recent mission. Another mistake. I could have just as easily been an enemy or a spy.'

Naruto's heart sank at the same time as speeding up as he realised the creep was right! His senses were on high alert now. Was this man an enemy? Why did he come after him though?

The man didn't seem to be giving any attention to increased apprehension, 'Your senses are sharp, however. Particularly your nose. But the fact that it took you a while to realise that someone was watching you, other than me, shows that it is a new development.

Your taijutsu is horrendous giving the sloppy defensive stance you attempted to settle in. And you know it, which is why you immediately went towards your kunai pouch. Which tells me that your shurikenjutsu is at least marginally better.

You are also horrible at genjutsu. Detecting or dispelling it. Because you did not notice the one hiding the Go box neither did you notice the genjutsu placed on you when your kunai pouch was taken. Or the genjutsus making those tree appear further than they are. All in all, if I was an enemy, you would have died at least four times over within the first few minutes of our meeting.'

Naruto sat there, stunned at the creep's assessment of his abilities. Only Iruka sensei knew more than this about him. And this man had learnt all of this within a few minutes of meeting him.

Needless to say, Naruto was freaked out. But then, slowly a grin stretched over his lips. So, this is what a Shinobi was! The old man was simply awesome! Before Naruto could beg him to train him, the man stood up, signalling the end of their meeting.

No! No! It was too early. Naruto jumped up, intent on making him wait a few more minutes.

'Now then, tell me. What is a Shinobi's greatest weapon?' the man asked his question again, stepping out from behind the wooden table.

Naruto now knew the answer, beyond a shadow of a doubt. It seems Iruka sensei was wrong. 'Deception.'

The man smiled, and Naruto felt the very rare warmth blossoming inside him when he got a question right in class.

'Until next time, Naruto Uzumaki,' the man started walking away.

'Wait wait…' Naruto exclaimed, jogging the few steps the man had walked. 'I have a question.'

But before he could say what it was, the man seemed to know what it was. 'I will not train you, Uzumaki.'

Crestfallen, Naruto nodded. But he refused to let this genius old man go without at least learning something he needed to know. 'Okay but tell me something else, please.'

A raised eyebrow was the only response he got.

He got the impression that the man's patience was running out and hurriedly asked him the question that had been bugging him ever since the fight on the bridge. 'What is a Shinobi?'

Naruto could have sworn he saw something like approval on the man's face before vanished too quickly.

Instead of answering, the man delved a hand deeper in his robe, and Naruto tensed, for just a moment. But he needn't have because the man drew from within his robes, a book?! What the hell. First a game, then a book. Why did he get the impression that this old man knew the Sandaime?

'There are some things you have to figure out yourself,' he said, tossing the book to him.

And before Naruto could process what had happened, faster than his eyes could follow, faster than even Haku, the old man had vanished. He moved even faster than Kakashi sensei and without leaving the cloud of smoke that his sensei did.

Who was this man?

Naruto looked down at the book in his hands.

'The Way a Shinobi Dies by Tobirama Senju.'


	3. Chapter 3

'NARUTO!' Sakura screamed, clenching her fist in front of her and bumping Naruto on the head as soon as he came within range. 'You're late, baka!'

Naruto wondered for but a second whether to call her out on her behaviour but decided against it. As much as deception rubbed against his nerves, he had to admit, especially after reading Tobirama's notes on how a shinobi fights, he needed to preserve their impression of him… for now.

'Ite!' Naruto rubbed his head, all the while grinning up at her. 'Sakura-chan! That hurts. I overslept, gomen!'

He could see Sakura grind her teeth in frustration. Sasuke had his usual self-satisfied smirk. 'Che, dobe,' he muttered under his breath.

'Shut up, teme!' Naruto yelled back prompting another quick punch to his head from the pink haired fangirl.

He had been ready for her yell the moment he stepped on to the training ground seven in view of his teammates. Sasuke as usual was sulking under a tree and Sakura, also as usual, hovering near him.

Secretly, Naruto was quite pleased with his senses having increased this much. He had been able to tell where in particular his teammates were standing.

Che. Teammates. What a stupid word for what they are. They can barely qualify as a team as it is. But looking at the broody bastard reminded him of something he thought of last night as he read the book the old man had given him.

Although he didn't know the creep's name, it was quite clear to him that the man was a big admirer of the Second Hokage. And it wasn't difficult to see that now that he has read halfway through the memoir of the Nidaime.

His demeanour was exactly how Tobirama-sama has outlined in it. Although, he had a feeling that it was added later on and not published within the book. Did the old man do it? Regardless, it didn't matter to him right now.

Not when he needed to research the Uchiha Clan. He had briefly seen the weird Sharingan eye of both Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke. From what Haku had observed and Zabuza said, it can read, decipher and copy all hand-signs, ninjutsu and genjutsu.

That made it highly dangerous. How unfair was that! He would be damned if he let the teme copy his one useful jutsu. Although, there was no telling he hadn't already done it. Naruto had used it quite a few times against Haku after Sasuke had awakened his freaky eyes.

The problem was, the hateful woman at the library wouldn't even let him in there, much less look up anything concerning the Uchiha clan. The moment he asked for it, he was certain it would elicit a stampede from the teme's fans defending him.

Maybe the old man had some information on the now nearly extinct clan. Naruto had been quick to get a bingo book as soon as they had returned from Wave, remembering what Zabuza had said about them:

'When you are deadly enough to be entered into my bingo book then you may have earned the title Ninja.'

And reading through the book, it was very, very obvious that Naruto didn't rank anywhere near the most powerful shinobi in the world.

From what he saw, ninjas were ranked the same as ninja missions. The least dangerous ones, usually runaway genin and academy students ranged from D to E. Then Chunins with no special ability ranged were usually C while those with a kekke genkai were B ranked.

There was a decent bounty on their return to the village they defected from or to the village which has put the bounty on the ninja.

Then came the powerful shinobi like Kakashi-sensei and Zabuza. Both were A ranked which are amongst the most powerful shinobi in the world, next only to the Kages and S-ranked Ninja.

It had shocked him to the core to see that Sasuke's older brother, Itachi was S-ranked with an order to kill on sight, but only with backup. If encountered alone, the ninja was ordered to flee right away.

No wonder the teme was so obsessed with getting strong. His brother was one of the most powerful shinobi in the world. Naruto inwardly grinned. He would no way make it obvious that his new ideal of strength was not Kakashi or even the Sandaime but Itachi himself.

He was determined to one day be stronger than the older Uchiha. And he never went back on his word.

The chirping birds brought him back from his internal musings and reminded him of the present. All his dreams would have to wait. There was no way he was getting stronger by waiting for his perpetually late sensei to show up.

Apparently, they were to have a mission today.

Finally, Sakura's loud shout alerted them. 'You're late!'

'Ne. Ne… You see, I was on my way here but a black cat crossed my path and I had to go around all the way across the village,' their sensei without a pause, his smut book in front of his face as usual.

'LIAR!' both Naruto and Sakura yelled. Naruto did, merely to keep up the pretence. If anything, he had learnt that his lazy-ass sensei was scarily observant. And who knows what the sensei will say about his changing outlook on ninja life.

'Well… now that we are here, let's get going,' Kakashi turned around and led them all the way to the Hokage tower. A few people were already milling about, shinobi and civilian alike. Naruto ignored the cold stares he received, as well as the admiring gazes Sasuke attracted.

Although the latter, brew his jealousy savagely, he managed to smother it down. What was it that he had that Naruto didn't? Was it the looks? No, that can't be it. Maybe it was the noble clan and his heritage?

The soft bell of the assistant's desk tinkered as they pushed the door of the office open. The pretty brunette looked up at their entrance. Unlike other people in the Tower, and indeed, in the academy, the assistants the old man Jiji hired, were always good to him.

'Yo,' Naruto beamed at the girl. 'How you doing, Izumi?'

The girl smiled at him, replying, 'Very well, Naruto-san,' then looked towards Kakashi. Naruto, who had been trying to be more observant ever since the old man admonished him for it, noticed the reddening of her face. So weird. Hinata did the same thing.

'Izumi you okay?' Naruto said concernedly, 'You look a little red?'

If anything, the girl reddened even more, and replied, 'I…I'm fine, Naruto-san. Just a little fever.'

'Oh,' Naruto sighed. He had been right. 'Well get well soon!' He waved and moved towards the old man's office, missing the looks of incredulousness of his teammates or the slight shake of Kakashi's head.

However, Izumi's fever was the last on Naruto's mind. He was more concerned with the broody bastard that his teammate was and his clan. Maybe the old man knew something about the Uchiha clan, Naruto wondered. But he wasn't about to ask him in front of his paranoid teammate and observant sensei.

Instead, he greeted the Hokage his usual way. 'Hey Jiji!' Naruto grinned.

That grinned was soon wiped off when Sakura's fist bounced off his head, 'Baka! Don't call the Hokage that!'

Though his head pained him, his air was in threat of being cut off as Sakura captured his head in a lock with her deceptively strong arms.

'Ma Ma Sakura,' Kakashi lightly admonished his rowdy genin. 'Necks aren't supposed to bend that way. Hokage-sama.'

The Sandaime Hokage, who most people revere as the God of Shinobi, the only one to hold the title since the venerable Shodaime, Hashirama Senju, looked on at the team fondly.

Kakashi was one of his strongest Jounins, and the one-eyed, grey haired man had been drowning himself in ANBU missions for too long. But now, seeing the look in his one-eye, even if his face was hidden behind the mask, showed Hiruzen that giving him the genin team was a good idea.

Sakura, another genin from civilian background, had graduated the top of her year amongst the kunoichi. Yes, she lacked power certainly but he was sure Kakashi was working with her on her faults. By the admiring looks, she subtly – but not subtly enough – sent the Uchiha, it seems she still held a torch for him.

Well, that wasn't anything new. He was distinctly reminded of another Uchiha merely six years ago and the pang of guilt rose in his chest. An entire clan eliminated. If only…. No. There was no use thinking of such things now.

Sasuke was a fine shinobi. Sure, the boy had problems but for someone who had been shown his parents' murder by his own brother using the Sharingan's capabilities, it was no wonder. Still, it was good for Sasuke to be in a team where his vengeful tendencies can be curbed and he could form friendships.

The last boy, grinning at him with those shiny blue eyes brightened his day, surely. Even if the troublesome genin had invented the most dangerous jutsu known to mankind. Naruto reminded him so much of _him _and yet… at the same time, didn't.

Sandaime was well aware of how hard the poor boy's life had been in the village and he had done everything possible to make it easier for him. But alas, he could hardly force people to like him. And he had been outvoted by the Shinobi Council from taking Naruto into his own diminished clan.

If he did it for one orphan, then it set a dangerous precedent for all others. So, regrettably the boy had been left at the mercies of the orphanages. That's not so say that Hiruzen hadn't kept an eye on the boy.

And until last week, there had been no concern from the boy about his danger. After Kakashi's report however, he reminded himself to summon his errant former student. Although the spy network was very important for Konoha, so was this.

But the grinning boy looked to be in good spirits. So that was well.

'Well, Kakashi, you're here for a mission, I suppose.'

'Hai, Hokage-sama,' the man answered, not putting down the book that got him, and so many other men in trouble with the ladies.

'Well let's what we got here,' Hiruzen pretended to sift through the numerous scrolls on his desk, knowing that Naruto's patience was running thin but enjoying it too much.

Another puff of smoke and Naruto was just about ready to snatch that damn pipe out of his mouth. It annoyed him almost as much as Kakashi's damn book.

'Yo, Jiji… What's the deal?' Naruto tapped his foot impatiently.

'Ma Ma, Naruto. Have some patience,' said Kakashi, knowing it was a lost cause.

Naruto however already knew that. Tobirama had expounded greatly on the usefulness of patience.

'Hmm… This one, I think,' the Sandaime gave the scroll to Kakashi who took it without bothering to look at it.

Before Naruto could ask what it was, just as he had no doubt both Sakura and Sasuke wanted to, the Hokage said, 'Be sure to be back for more…'

And just like that, he knew this was another D-rank.

And sure enough, they were stuck sifting trash from a nearby river for more than five hours. Naruto was just glad that they didn't have to find Tora, the demon cat. He was certain that the cat took vicious, sadistic pleasure in scratching his face off every time. Oh, how he longed to kill it.

'Ugh Naruto no baka, we could have been done so much earlier if you had used your shadow clones,' Sakura said, not for the first time as they walked back towards the administrative buildings.

'Hn,' Sasuke added helpfully and immediately Sakura was glad to see that her crush agreed with her.

'Why the hell should I do that, Sakura-chan?' Naruto asked, both his hands behind his head.

'What the….,' he didn't understand Sakura's confused look before it was turned into one of anger. 'Why, because it would have taken us less time. And it's teamwork, baka!'

'Gomen, Sakura-chan, but no,' Naruto replied, and missed her dumbfounded expression and Sasuke's momentary frown as he turned to Kakashi-sensei hopefully.

As usual, the glares accompanied wherever he went and they collected their pay from the mission centre where they collected scrolls of completed missions.

'Ne, Ne… Kakashi-sensei,' Naruto looked up at him hopefully. 'Can you teach me something new… Please!'

'Sorry, Naruto but you need to focus on the basics,' came his teacher's usual reply and one that Naruto had been expecting.

'But… But…,' before Naruto could plead further, he knew there was another team coming down from the Hokage's tower.

'Hello Kakashi,' asked the beautiful sensei and his own teacher replied, without putting down his book.

'Yo.'

Naruto didn't need to be a genius to know when to stay away from women, and this was it. Instead, he looked toward her genin, and pushed down the feelings of resentment that came up at the sight of the brash Inuzuka.

'What are you looking at dobe?' Kiba asked, and was immediately admonished by his sensei who seemed to have finished her brief conversation with Kakashi.

'Nothing, just seeing why anyone have to suffer your stench, dog breath,' Naruto replied, knowing that it would set him off.

And like clockwork, he nearly exploded, 'Why you dead last! I would beat your ass here and now but we have a mission to get to.'

'Che, like you can,' Naruto replied, grinning and just when he was getting ready to defend against the about-to-lunge Kiba, both of them were pulled away by their respective teammates, Naruto by Sakura and Kiba by Shino.

Naruto briefly saw the indigo hair of Hinata and turned to see her face but she immediately ducked her head. Ah, so she didn't even want to look at him. Of course. She no doubt thought that he shouldn't even get into an argument with someone as strong as Kiba.

But that's exactly why he needed to.

'N…Naruto-kun,' he thought he heard her say as they were about to part but it must have been his imagination. He turned towards Sakura and grinned, 'Ne…. Ne… Sakura-chan!'

'What is it Naruto!' the girl almost growled at him, already having his neck in her grasp.

'Since we're done with the mission, how we get something to eat…,' he said, smiling up at her.

'SHUT UP, BAKA!' another punch to the head followed his request.

But he felt it was worth it. He didn't want to look into the pale, light lavender eyes of the girl who he thought was his friend.

'A shinobi knows when to unleash his fury and when to hold back. Patience can be a weapon if you know how to use it and anger can make you stronger if you know how to control it,' Tobirama-sama had stated.

And Naruto was angry. At his treatment by the villagers. By the people who were supposed to be his friends and his teammates. His sensei. And he was learning to be patient.

He might not have learnt a new jutsu in the two days since he had been given the book by the old man but he had improved. And maybe he was one step closer to being a called a ninja in Zabuza's book.


	4. Chapter 4

Something's wrong with Naruto-kun, was Hinata's first thought as she came face to face with Team 7.

Her heart had started beating much faster when Kiba had excitedly informed them that Team 7 was in the building, just one floor down. His nose really was improving at an incredible rate. But that wasn't surprising for an Inuzuka.

They might not be one of the noble Clans of Konoha but they were extremely loyal. That was no hidden secret. Neither was that, it is in the Inuzuka's blood the need to assert their dominance in a group, to establish themselves as the alpha.

And that Kiba was the alpha of their team, of that there was no doubt. After, Kurenai-sensei of course. Shino, who rarely said anything from behind his hood and sunglasses, did not challenge Kiba's assumption of the team leader position.

Only on occasions when Kiba was being especially silly, rather like one adorable, blonde haired, blue eyed, orange wearing ninja they all knew, did Shino reprimand him.

Kiba, much like the rest of his clan members was very adept at nintaijutsu. She regretted to say that Kiba was better than her, who should have been the taijutsu specialist in their team, given the clan she belonged to.

However, in contrast to Kiba's similarity to his powerful mother and sister, Hinata was nothing like the rest of her clan. The Hyuga were a clan of powerful shinobi who focused on their deadly taijutsu with the help of their revered dojutsu, the Byakugan. They boasted a large number of strong ninja and equally strong albeit obedient kunoichi.

The only one she remembered being similar to was her mother. But she had passed away a few years ago, leaving both Hinata and Hanabi, alone to face their father who grows colder each year.

Personally, the indigo haired kunoichi thought that Hiashi Hyuga, the cold, emotionless Head of the Hyuga Clan had loved her mother very much. And that it was her death that had made her father retreat into his own world.

Each year, he became even more distant than the last. Ever since she could remember, she was fighting for her father's attention which was easily bestowed when her mother was alive and when he had been training her.

But after her mother's death, Hinata had stopped progressing, prompting her father to give on training her personally.

He was the epitome of what her clan signifies, as a man, a leader and as a shinobi. And she wanted more than anything to be able to make her father and clan proud of her. But no matter what she tried it just wasn't good enough. She just wasn't as brutal as they wanted her to be.

It was no secret to Hinata that her father hated her weakness, her gentle nature. But at least, he doesn't say it anymore as frequently. The elders however, had no such considerations.

It was clear that they all wanted her younger sister, Hanabi, who already showed much more promise, to succeed as the heiress to the clan. But there was no way they could make her the heiress until Hinata was at least eighteen.

She remembered the first mock battle they had had in the courtyard with much of the clan present. Hanabi, four years younger than her had been able to beat Hinata. It was those cold, emotionless, disapproving eyes of her father that she couldn't stand and had run away from the clan compound, not wanting to show him her tears and cement his opinion of her weakness even further.

She remembered it like it was yesterday. But even if she could go back in time, she would not change the outcome of the battle. For that was the first time she had ever met Naruto.

* * *

_Hinata ran with her head bent down, and hot tears streaming down her face, heedless of where she was going. But she just needed to get away from the stifling compound. She knew that someone was sent after her. After all, they couldn't just let the heiress outside with no protecting, her Byakugan being unsealed as it was. _

_Bang! A loud curse emanated from someone in front of her. She had crashed right into an older boy, who looked at his fallen ice cream and then to her, hatefully. _

'_HEY YOU!' the black-haired boy yelled, pointing at her. _

'_G…Gomen!' Hinata stuttered. _

'_People from noble families act like they're so stuck up!' spat his friend, who was even larger than the first boy. _

_Scared as she was, and not knowing what to do, Hinata squeaked another apology and made to bolt. _

'_Wait, you brat!' the first boy grabbed her hair painfully, and pulled her back. _

'_Aaghhh!' she was pushed to the ground. _

_The three circled her and bent her head, tears having resumed. _

'_C'mon, apologise!' they yelled at her. _

'_Gomenasai! G...gomenasai!' _

'_AAGHH!' Hinata was pulled up by the first boy, who glared hatefully. _

'_Don't look at me with those eyes! Freak!' he scorned. _

'_She must be a Hyuga,' the other one added. 'If you're a Hyuga, show us you're Byakugan!' _

'_Yehh. Otherwise, don't look at us with those creepy eyes.' _

'_I bet you're just a monster!' _

'_Yeh! A Byakugan monster!' the civilian boys laughed, all taunting her. _

_There was no one to save her from them. She was stuck, a useless Hyuga girl with a weak Byakugan who couldn't even defend herself against civilians. Her father would be even more ashamed of her when he found out. If only she could get away. Then no one would know. _

'_HEY! Quit it!' _

_Hinata was afraid she might just have passed out. For surely no one would have come to her rescue. _

_But no, she was still awake and this was really happening. With her tear-filled eyes, she looked at the boy standing opposite them, dressed in the brightest orange t-shirt she had ever seen, and green goggles on his forehead. If the situation wasn't so dire, she might have giggled at the comical appearance. _

_But as it was, she had no intention of laughing at him, even if he wasn't attempting to save her. There was just something in the boy's eyes that told her that he might be a kindred soul. That he might understand her pain. _

'_Who are you, brat?!' the kid whose ice cream she had spilled ask. _

'_I'M NARUTO UZUMAKI! THE FUTURE HOKAGE! DON'T YOU FORGET IT!' the boy exclaimed. Hinata had to admit, the boy had guts. He was much braver than she could ever be. And she instantly admired his courage. _

_The three bullies though, laughed in his face, taunting his dream. _

'_What an idiot!' they scorned at him, earning her glare at their back, not that they knew or cared. How dare they make fun of his dream! She, of all people knew the pain of striving for something when everyone was against you. _

'_Oh yeh! I'll show you!' the boy, Naruto brought his hands together in a seal and Hinata felt a build up of chakra. 'CLONE JUTSU!' he yelled. _

_Momentarily, the civilian boys were taken aback, thinking they had confronted a genin perhaps. But what resulted from his jutsu, were tiny clones glaring up the three bullies, squeaking challenges and the three burst into laughter once more. _

_Naruto stared hopelessly at the clones. But before she could warn him, one of the boys had surged forward and punched in the nose. _

_What resulted was a beating and even while squeaked for them to stop, they paid no mind. _

'_STOP!' she yelled, as loud as she could get her voice, hoping that would attract some adult attention. She had to stop his beating. _

_She was powerless to help him, feeling even more of a failure. Finally, after having ruined his red scarf, the three took off as they heard her bodyguard's approaching voice, calling for her. _

_Hinata went forward where Naruto crouched, 'A…Are you… okay?' she asked and he looked up, with the most striking, startling blue eyes she had ever seen. It was like he held an ocean of emotion in them. _

'_Yeh I'm used to it,' he murmured depressingly, waving it off as if it was a common occurrence. And that made her feel even once. She had been the source of this latest addition to her beating. It was bad enough that she was getting beat up at home in spars with her cousin and younger sister, but now her weakness was causing others to get hurt too. _

_That was the day she swore she would get stronger. For the boy who had tried to help her, for the one child who had shown her kindness when no one else would. _

'_I'm… sor….,' Hinata attempted to say before she was pulled back. _

'_Hinata-sama! I've been looking for you,' Ko said, pulling her with him, and throwing a glare at Naruto, who didn't look at all surprised. 'You shouldn't associate with him, Hinata-sama! The demon brat!'_

'_But… But… Ko-san,' she attempted to pull out of his grip but yet again, failed. _

_Hinata was shocked that Ko, who was normally so kind, would say something like that? Was the boy dangerous? He didn't look like he was?_

_But before she could say something else to him, Ko had increased his pulling efforts. The last thing she saw were the blue eyes, swimming with tears before a grin erupted on his cute whiskered face and the boy took off running._

* * *

Her heart beat even faster as they neared Team 7. Hinata didn't know what to feel. A part of her wanted to talk to him, another screamed for Kurenai-sensei to not to talk to her friend here so they could leave.

As usual, Kiba and Naruto got into an argument, even though she thought it a bit silly, that they were trying to one up the other, Naruto did look cute getting all riled up like that. But they shouldn't be so antagonistic towards each other. They were comrades after all.

Hinata could feel her face reddening at the how close Naruto-kun was standing, that was she afraid Kiba would hear her thumping heart. If she didn't pass out before that.

It was Naruto who kept her going even against the sometimes, overwhelming negative pressure from her family. Naruto, who got beaten down so many times in the academy for his poor shinobi skills but never failed to get back up. Naruto who she had followed many times – at a distance of course – so as to not get caught and watched him beat himself bloody and collapse by training until his body could take it no more.

It was he who had been kind to her before she had even met her team. He who had tried to save her from those bullies all those years ago and had gotten beat up himself.

Nobody had stood up for her when the villagers and other children made fun of her white eyes. It was only him who had tried to help a helpless, foolish young girl he didn't even know. It was him who didn't care that the bullies had torn up his scarf that was obviously very important to him, and instead was concerned about her.

After her mother's death, he had been the first kindness she had experienced. And with expecting no reward. He hadn't even known who she was. Even to this day, she felt guilty for leaving when her bodyguard pulled her away from Naruto and listening to him when the poor boy was still clutching his bleeding nose.

But the kind boy had never brought it up. And there had been so many times Hinata had wanted to thank him for it, but never found the courage to do so in the academy. She was always watching from afar. Too scared to know what he would say. Too scared for him to think of her just as everybody else did.

But then that had all changed when she and Naruto had trained together in Wave. Tree climbing was easier for her after all. She was a Hyuga and as such had nearly perfect chakra control. Still, she had been beaten by Sakura who was the one who got the exercise the fastest.

Hinata had thought that she and Naruto might even become friends, as outlandish and fantasy as the idea used to be before. And every time she wanted to give up and fall down, his determined happy blue eyes brought her back up.

But she was a failure. She just had to go and screw it up, like she did everything. Naruto had barely spoken two sentences to her or to anyone else on the way back from Wave. But then again, he was hurting over the death of his even if he hadn't known Haku for long. She wanted more than anything to be able to comfort him, seeing him hurting. But again, she was too scared. Always afraid.

He turned towards her and she instantly looked down to the floor, face heating up as she remembered the words she had spoken to him two weeks ago. She had foolishly compared his strength against Kiba's skill, who also eclipsed herself. But that wasn't a surprise. She doubted there was anyone who couldn't beat her.

Hinata reached within her jacket, her hand clutching something shiny and metal. She tried to summon up the courage to get his attention, stuttering and cursing herself for it, 'N…Naruto-kun…'

But he had already turned his head and those striking blue orbs to the girl holding his neck in a death grip and asked her out on a date, yet again.

Hinata felt her heart sink. Of course, he would never look at her like the way he does at Sakura. Look at her, Sakura was beautiful. She had lovely pink hair, matching outfit, had excellent chakra control from what Kurenai-sensei had remarked on their tree climbing training.

And Sakura wasn't afraid – not as much as her anyway - when the hunter-nin had showed up on the bridge and looked at them with that scary, slit Kiri-nin mask. Her legs hadn't trembled like Hinata's had done.

It was no wonder Naruto-kun was attracted to Sakura. Who wouldn't be? Her eyes briefly caught the obsidian, piercing ones of Sasuke Uchiha before she looked down and hurriedly followed her sensei. Away from team 7.

But even as her team walked away from them, Hinata couldn't help but be troubled over what she had seen. It was but a moment, but she had seen the look in his eyes. For a brief second, she was taken back to the moment where he was crouched to the ground, clutching his bleeding nose and his eyes had looked just the same.

Just as defeated. Just as sad. The thought broke her heart more than she could put into words. She would never fail to recognise the look. For she had seen it too many times, in the mirror. Naruto-kun was hurting.

Something was wrong with Naruto-kun and the thought troubled her deeply. Even more so that she didn't know what it was.

'Hinata-chan, you okay?' she turned to see Kiba and Akamaru looking over her concernedly. Could they have smelled her concern? Was that possible?

Hastily, she nodded her head, 'Y…Yes, Kiba-kun. Just thinking about the mission.' She supposed it could pass off as the truth. For this particular mission anyway.

'Ah don't sweat it. There's no way that demon cat is getting away from us this time!' He grinned and looked much like Akamaru did when the pup was happy.

The thought made her giggle and pulled her out of her troubled thoughts… for the moment.

But soon enough, they had caught Tora the demon cat again, which was getting much easier now that they had some experience in tracking. Unlike most genin teams, Team 8 actually looked forward to tracking missions.

Their team was designed to be specialised tracking unit, with all three genin having specialised jutsu. The Aburame with their Hijutsu using their Kikaichu bugs; the Inuzuka with their well developed and highly sensitive sense of smell and hearing; and the Hyuga with their Byakugan.

It was just a shame, Hinata thought, that their team was held back by her incompetence. But it's not like she was that way on purpose. Her Byakugan was just as pure as the rest of her clan members. No one had married into the clan in nearly fifty years. And it wasn't like the problem was in her eyes.

It was in her mastery of Jyuken, also called Gentle Fist, which was the Hyuga's secret taijutsu style. Unlike other styles, the Hyuga didn't rely on brute force to inflict damage. The damage they inflicted was much more subtle and much more devastating, if executed properly.

When the teams were formed, their sensei, Kurenai had told them of her belief they had the potential to be one of the best hunter teams in Konoha. And it was Hinata's wish as well, to be a powerful ninja for Konoha that her father and her clan could be proud of, rather than the weakling she currently was.

Unlike other Hidden Villages, Konoha had no proper Hunter-nin unit. Although Haku turned out to be fake, he did have a real mask, taken no doubt from the hunter-nin he had killed. They were tasked with hunting down rogue ninja from their village and with keeping their village's secrets.

A ninja's body, even if the person was no longer alive, still held many secrets, clan or otherwise that the village doesn't want getting out. For in their world, secrets and secret techniques, especially Kekke Genkai like the Byakugan meant power.

A hunter-nin was tasked with either bringing back the rogue-nin or eliminating them and disposing off the body on the scene. Hinata didn't think she had the stomach for such work but her sensei was certain she had the potential to be a good hunter-nin and she didn't want to let Kurenai down.

Hinata stole a glance at the woman walking in front of them. A kunoichi from the Yuhi Clan, she was one of the village's only three genjutsu mistresses. And at 27, she struck an amazing figure.

To Hinata, the older woman was nothing short of inspirational. Hinata had been introduced to her sensei when she was eight, when her father had given up on Hinata's training himself.

She knew her father had faced much opposition from the clan when he had entered Hinata for the academy. Because even though she wasn't as strong as the clan wished her to be, she was still the heiress, a position that had a lot of influence in Fire Country and genin and in time, Chunin missions carried a high risk of death. Or much worse.

After the Uchiha massacre, the Hyuga clan had filled in the power vacuum that had been left and taken over as the most influential clan within the village. As such, it was essential that their heiress be strong to be able to lead the Clan.

Hinata however, didn't fit the mould. She was too much like her mother. She knew it and she knew the Elders knew it too.

But she would not give up. She would die before she gave up without even trying. She would try her best to grow stronger in the few years she had available to her. She would fight for her place within the clan and she would show them that she was a Hyuga.

And, if there was anything, she had learnt from watching Naruto-kun secretly, it was to never give up. More than her father, more than her mother, more than even Kurenai-sensei, he was her inspiration.

She longed to see respect for her skills in those azure orbs that she imagined before going to bed every night.

* * *

_**AN: **_

_**I haven't yet decided if it will be a NaruHina fic or not. I might change the tags later on but i just wanted there to be something from Hinata's POV. One, because I like her character. I know many people hate it that Hinata's so weak and useless etc. But that's to be expected in a household like hers where she's belittled by everyone, her elders, her father on how she's the weakest Hyuga etc and a shame to the clan. I think its quite realistic that a young girl, especially one whose only support system was her mother - who's now dead - develops her insecurities, lacks confidence and has low self esteem. And that will affect her ninja abilities.**_

_**Second, I think she's hot. Or maybe that's the first reason. IDK.**_

_**For a while I was debating it to be NaruSaku but I don't like Sakura's character. In a way, it depends on his parentage. Since I'm not planning his parents to be the same as in canon. Also, I don't think it's quite realistic for the Hyuga heiress to be paired up with a no clan orphan, even if it is the Hokage's son.**_

_**Since in canon, it didn't specify if Minato or Kushina were quite rich. Kushina was only an immigrant from another country with no clan backup whatsoever. Or that Naruto was ever motivated by something as trivial as how much money he has. Influential, they may be. Given the Hyuga clan's influence and tradition, they would not want their heiress to marry outside of clan, given how jealously they protect the Byakugan. Because if that were to happen, then Hinata's children will be need to be given the Bird Cage Seal, and i don't think Naruto would ever allow that to happen.**_

_**Secondly, there wouldn't be any profit for the clan for such a match. I think's more realistic that they would want to get rid of their useless heiress by marrying her to Sasuke.**_

_**So yes, I haven't decided on the pairing yet.**_


	5. Chapter 5

'Naruto,' Kakashi sighed. 'You need to focus on the basics. And your chakra control is still lacking. I can't teach you anything until you improve on those.'

Naruto looked from the usual bored expression of his sensei, his book still in front of him. Once again, he had asked Kakashi-sensei to train him and once again, the man had declined it.

It really should be no surprise to him by this point. But something about Kakashi told him that he was indeed impatient to go somewhere? Naruto didn't know how he knew but he did.

A look to the right and Naruto saw Sasuke walking away, with Sakura trailing behind him, no doubt asking for a date or train with him. He didn't know why she bothered.

On that note, he didn't know why he bothered with her anymore. Or with any of his teammates in fact. Including the sensei.

Still, he thought he might give one more try. If that didn't work, then Naruto would have no choice to but sneak into the library, or ask JiJi. Or better yet, go look for that old man who had given him Tobirama-sama's book. Maybe he could persuade him to give some pointers.

Kakashi was just about to turn around and leave when Naruto's next question stopped him short.

'How do I do that?' Naruto asked, looking at him with those big blue eyes that reminded him so much of _him_ and yet… there was also something that didn't. It was beyond confusing to the Copy Ninja. Naruto had never, ever showed an eagerness to practice the basics. Something was going on here.

Shocked, he looked back, but of course it didn't show on his face other than the raising of his eyebrow.

Truthfully, Naruto wasn't that bad a student. Yes, he got on Kakashi's nerves sometimes. Okay, almost all the time. And his basics were beyond pathetic, his taijutsu was horrendous and his chakra control was shoddy at best.

But he liked the kid, most of the time. And it had nothing to do with his heritage. Okay, maybe that was a part of it. Inwardly, he shook his head. All of this could have been avoided if he had just been allowed to take care of Naruto from an earlier age.

The boy was beyond competitive. Almost to an obsessive degree. It was perhaps the only thing that Naruto had in common with the Uchiha prodigy. And from the look Naruto had thrown towards Sasuke when the boy had walked away, Kakashi knew that this question and the intent behind it, stemmed from a need to beat the Uchiha, as seemingly impossible as it was.

He shook his head, 'If you're doing it to beat Sasuke, Naruto then I –'

'NO!' Naruto shook his vehemently. He saw the Kakashi's lone eye look at him as if knowing he was lying. But he really wasn't. For the most part. 'Okay, maybe I do want to beat the teme but I also want to grow stronger and –'

Kakashi shook his head at the blonde genin again, 'No. Naruto. Until you realise what you're training for, I will not teach you anything new. Besides, you need to improve upon the basics.' No. Team 7 already had one avenger and they didn't need two Sasukes running around. One was more than enough.

He really needed to put an end to this in-team competitiveness. It was amusing at first, but now it was obvious, that Sasuke's superior skill and Naruto's lack of it, was sending their already shoddy teamwork down the drain. The loudmouth blonde needed to realise that he would need to get stronger for a reason other than a need to defeat Sasuke.

Naruto bristled at the blunt put-down and rejection. But that was what he was asking. How to improve on his basics.

'That's what I'm asking, baka-sensei!' Naruto spat angrily, momentarily surprising Kakashi with his outburst. 'Tell me exercises that I can use to improve my chakra control…'

Kakashi lowered his book and looked at his genin's rapidly rising and falling chest and his heated eyes. Perhaps he could just tell him something. After all, it would take a long time to even catch up to Sasuke and he would need to start soon.

But he couldn't fight the feeling that this might set the team back even further, rather than improve their teamwork, which is what Kakashi wanted. He could hardly refuse to teach his own student, even the basics.

Kakashi sighed, 'You can climb trees now but honestly, I wouldn't have had you do the exercise. It was necessary but you need something more basic than that.'

Naruto glared at his lazy sensei and his blatant disrespect of his skills but decided to hold his tongue. For now, he would listen to what he had to say.

'Take a leaf,' Kakashi picked up a leaf from the ground and put it on his forehead. 'The goal is to first stick the leaf to your forehead using chakra, much like tree walking, and then float it on your forehead and not letting it fall.'

As Naruto looked down on the leaf, 'But how do I –'

He sighed, looking at the empty space in front of him. There was no use. His useless sensei was already gone. Oh, how he wanted to get so good that he could rub it in Kakashi-baka's face. How he wanted to see the look of disbelief of Sasuke-teme's face when he realises that Naruto had surpassed him.

'Ugh. Why do I even bother!' Naruto yelled to the empty air, but then took a deep breath. He needed a calm head if he was to figure out how in the hell he was going to go about getting stronger.

Reading books was well and all, but it was not going to help him increase his skills. That much was certain. As he walked towards an empty training ground, Naruto skipped the usual street and took to the roofs. He needed a cool head and he was not going to get it by having to ignore the villager's disdainful looks.

Okay, so Kakashi said that he needed to stick it to his forehead using chakra. When he had accomplished that, he needed to float it.

'Shadow Clone Jutsu,' Naruto called out, raising his fingers in the now very familiar cross shaped seal.

Two clones popped up out of the smoke and Naruto narrowed his eyes, sighing. He had only wanted one. This was nothing but a waste of chakra.

'Okay, one of you go to the flat and grab any scroll you can find on chakra theory and chakra control,' he pointed to the one on the right and it took with a salute.

Naruto turned towards the other one and instantly got a mischievous idea.

'Ugh! How am I so stupid!' Naruto hit himself on the head.

'What is it, boss?' the clone asked, not looking at all concerned with the boss' self-reprimand.

'Nothing,' Naruto grumbled. He really needed to start thinking things through like the old had told him. 'Henge into someone else,' he ordered.

Puzzled, the clone complied and soon he had gotten the shape of some nondescript ninja Naruto might have seen in the village.

'You will take a pen and paper and sneak into teme's house and spy on him training. And make notes,' Naruto ordered.

He had always wondered where Sasuke got all those fancy moves that he used in his spars against him and Kakashi. He had never seen Kakashi teach Sasuke those. So, he must be getting them from somewhere.

'Cool boss!' the clone saluted and was about to take off when Naruto stopped it.

'Don't get caught!'

Fortunately, the clone had more than enough experience sneaking and hiding that this mission would be a piece of cake.

Little did Naruto know, this action of his was observed by someone who had less than stellar intentions. Although, at this moment, the move had been enough to impress him.

With that done, Naruto made his way towards his training ground and proceeded with the exercise that Kakashi had told him about.

As soon as he supplied his chakra, the leaf went shooting up towards the sky in an instant. Sighing, he picked it up again, and lessened the amount of chakra he was feeding it.

It was nowhere near easy, but after more than an hour, Naruto had started getting the hang of it. It took a lot of curses and threats to the inanimate leaf, but finally Naruto had gotten the leaf to stick to his head.

This was going to take to long. If one bloody leaf took an hour, then he would have no time left for other training. Why couldn't he just get his clones to do it with him?

He stopped short in shock! UGH! His new habit of trying to analyse things was finally coming in handy when he hit himself over the head again. So, fucking stupid! He had been using Shadow clones to do everything for him. Everything from using them in fights, to making them to the dishes, clean the house or to go and get ramen from Ichiraku. There was no reason that he couldn't use them to train.

Why had he never thought about this again. With this thought, another horde of clones was summoned. He had no idea how many there were, but suspected that there were around fifty.

'All of you, grab a leaf and get to it,' he ordered them.

'YES BOSS!' a chorus of their yells rang through the training as none of them needed an explanation of what needed to be done.

That merited more thought. But not right now.

After half an hour of trying to master the lead exercise, Naruto's head snapped up in shock, yet again. What in the hell was that?

Why were there scrolls on his bed? Whose were they?

He couldn't recognise the writing. But they were definitely on the topics that he had needed. Basic chakra theory and elementary chakra control, were their titles. Now he was beyond curious? How the hell had he known it?

The clone seemed to have popped out of existence out of nowhere. It should have enough chakra then why did it pop? Did someone destroy it?

No use thinking about it now. He sent one of the clones to go to the apartment, investigate and bring back the scrolls, carefully.

This meant that whatever memories the clones experienced were sent back to the original. Why the fuck had he never noticed this in the first place? Was he really that dense as others claimed him to be? He must be if he hadn't noticed such a crucial fact about his primary jutsu.

Primary! Che! Naruto laughed. He really didn't have any other jutsu! He would if Kakashi would just be less stubborn and teach him something too like he did with his precious Sasuke-teme.

Naruto was under no illusions. Last night, he had sat down and reflected seriously on his own skills. And to say that he was disappointed was as obvious as saying the old man Jiji was a pervert.

'Here you go boss!' the clone returned with the two scrolls that were on his bed, seemingly out of nowhere. Did Kakashi-baka leave these there? No. There was no way he would do something like that.

Besides, he had once seen Kakashi's handwriting on a mission report. And it was nothing like this. This almost seemed…. What was the word for it… clinical… surgical. This is what he imagined an assassin's handwriting would look like it. And the thought was more than a little disturbing.

But he had no reason to complain. As the other forty-nine clones trained to stick the leaf on their head, and then floating it, Naruto opened the first scroll and read through it.

It detailed what chakra really was, its distribution of spiritual, physical and natural chakra, which was everywhere in the surroundings. Created and sustained by living beings, and not accessible except through extremely hard and dangerous training.

It then went on to explain how the spiritual chakra was moulded and manifested, and used in genjutsus or illusions. It was called Yin chakra. Physical chakra could be channelled into specific body parts or the whole body as a whole to strengthen the muscles, bones, cartilage and to perform various functions.

Channelling into the ears heightened ones hearing sensitivity and the same with the nose for smelling. The extremes of chakra control were shown in the second scroll, ranging from the basic exercises as the ones he and his clones were attempting to the most difficult of all, controlling chakra for medical ninjutsu.

That didn't interest him that much to be honest. Granted, it would be cool to be able to heal himself or others in battle but right now he need to focus on the exercises more than jutsus. The scrolls didn't have jutsus anyway.

All in all, he learned more about chakra theory and controlling chakra from the two admittedly quite lengthy scrolls than he had in four years in the academy. Granted, he had slept through most of the boring lectures that weren't going to help him get stronger and weren't flashy jutsu.

If he could go back in time, he would use it to thoroughly kick his younger self in the ass to get his head on straight. How could he have been this stupid. But at least, he was on the right track now. Done with the scrolls for now, Naruto carefully put them away under a tree's root and got up to do the training along with his clones.

He had heard them grumbling about the unfairness of it all, and he agreed. He couldn't just sit and do nothing. Meanwhile, Naruto relegated one of his clones who had brought a pencil and some empty scrolls to jot down a draft of his possible training routines and what he needed to work on, staring from the very basics.

More than two hours later, an incredibly tired but very self-satisfied Naruto lay down on the ground. True, he had expended a lot of chakra, was out of breath and he could collapse any time soon but it had been worth it.

'Ughhh,' Naruto grumbled, standing up with some effort and grabbing his aching head. 'Never dismiss so many clones so quickly.' He reminded himself. His head was killing him, with the headache that had resulted from his thoughtless action.

But Naruto knew that his control had improved. Even if by a little bit. Halfway through the training, he had gotten bored and taken to running up and down trees, at the same time as sticking the leaf to his forehead.

That particular exercise was his own invention and wasn't in the scrolls but it was more fun that way than just standing around, sticking a leaf to his head.

True, it had taken him a lot of falls, bumps on the head, and aching limbs but in the end, he had gotten the hang of it. He was nowhere near mastering it, but it was progress.

As Naruto stumbled into his house and collapsed on his bed, exhausted, little did he know that his training session hadn't gone unobserved. Neither was the observer left unimpressed.


	6. Chapter 6

_The violent river crashed into wood and concrete of the unfinished bridge, but he didn't hear it. Gato's goons cheered like a psychopathic bloodthirsty crowd, but he didn't hear it. His sensei yanked him back forcefully and told him to use his head. But he didn't hear it. Gato gloated but he didn't hear it._

_All he could hear was the sounding of the blood rushing in his ears, the furious beating of his heart. Gato was standing a few feet away with his disgusting foot on Haku's face, with nearly fifty goons behind him. Yet he saw nothing. All he could see was red. All he could see was the demon standing in front of him. _

_His fingers lengthened into claws. He clenched his fists so hard that his claws dug into his palm and drew hot blood. Yet he didn't feel the pain or the trickle of the precious life water. All he felt was the unwavering hate. _

_Hate, not directed at the man who tried to kill his client, that ugly son of a bitch who stomped on Haku's dead body like he was a rat. No, his hate was made more potent because it was directed at the man standing before him, who called himself a shinobi. _

'_You don't understand the way of the shinobi. I merely used him, just as Gato used me. Now it's over. His usefulness is at an end. The loss of his strength and skill, yes that means something to me. But the boy, nothing,' said Zabuza's gruff voice. _

_Naruto's rage increased as he growled at the demon of the mist. His chakra riled up in response, almost eager, begging to be let out. Like a beast, caged and enraged, howling to be let loose. 'If you really think that, then you're an even bigger rat than I thought!' _

_Kakashi put a hand on his shoulder, yet he didn't feel it. All he wanted to feel at the moment was the blood of Zabuza on his hands instead of his own. _

'_Okay calm down. He's not the enemy,' said Kakashi, trying to hold him back from doing something stupid. _

_Angrily, he shrugged the sensei's hand off. 'Aah, shut up! A far as I'm concerned, he's enemy number one!' Naruto pointed his finger at Zabuza. 'How could you! You ungrateful…!' another growl. 'After everything he did for you! Haku lived for you!' _

_Haku's young innocent like face swam in front of his eyes. _

'_You were the most important person to him! Did he mean nothing to you!' _

'_The way of shinobi is very difficult for me,' Haku smiled in his memory. _

'_While he was sacrificing everything for you! You never felt anything for him?!' Naruto waved his hand furiously, his eyes filling up with tears. _

'_But I will do anything to see his dream fulfilled. Even become a shinobi!' Haku's voice took on a determined, hardened tone, so very different from the soft-spoken boy he had met. _

'_And If I become stronger,' his voice quivered for but a moment, 'Does that mean I will become as cold hearted as you are! An emotionless killer?!' _

_Lightning had flashed. Naruto had scream for him to stop. But neither Haku nor Kakashi had listened. Lightning pierced the boy's chest and Haku's life faded from his eyes._

'_He threw his life away! And for what? For you and your pathetic dream?!' Naruto shook his head, willing the tears to not cloud his vision anymore. To not be there anymore so he could glare death at the seemingly impossible to kill man. _

'_You never let him have a dream of his own but he didn't care. And you toss him aside like he's nothing! Like a broken tool! Man, that's so wrong! So wrong!' Naruto yelled, furiously rubbing his eyes. _

'_You talk too much!' Zabuza growled, ripping his bandages away from his mouth with his sharp, pointed teeth. _

_He finally turned to glare at Naruto but it fell short. For the piercing eyes were wet. 'Your words cut deep. Deeper than any blade! But don't you dare diminish his sacrifice with your pathetic weakness and childish crying.'_

_WHAT?! His sacrifice?! Enraged, Naruto opened his mouth to yell at the infernal, selfish man again but he was cut short._

'_Haku was a shinobi of Kirigakure! He deserves respect, not tears of a naïve child. He died a shinobi's death!' the Demon of the Hidden Mist yelled and he suddenly somehow had a kunai in his mouth. _

'_Don't avert your eyes kid. Or you will never be a shinobi!' Zabuza growled through the kunai in his mouth and charged headfirst into battle, facing a horde of fifty mercenaries. _

_Hands and arms useless, Zabuza swung, and dodged, and he slashed and got slashed. He stabbed and he got stabbed. _

_Zabuza released a howl of fury, dark purple chakra bursting out of his battered, slashed and cut body, with swords sticking out at odd angles, giving him the strength to finish his self-imposed mission. _

_What followed could only be called a slaughter of mortals by a demon. And at the end, Gato's head rolled of his stunted, fat body. Zabuza crashed to his knees amongst the sea of dead killers and rapists. But not fallen. Merely injured. _

'_Uzumaki,' the Demon wheezed. 'Come here.' _

_Kakashi tried to hold him back but Naruto obliged the injured man, looking down at the bloodied face, his watery blue eyes staring into the black beady ones of his one-time enemy. _

'_Closer.' _

_Naruto obeyed. _

'_Promise me… Haku's sacrifice…. Will not be… in vain… the Mizukage… will die…,' the demon coughed up blood, hanging on to unconsciousness – or maybe his life – through sheer will. _

_Shocked at what he had just seen, stunned at the truth that Haku was a ninja of Kiri and awed by Zabuza's skill, Naruto could only nod his acquiescence. _

_The last thing Naruto saw were the black, peaceful eyes as he buried the kunai to the hilt, in the injured Demon's chest._

* * *

'Hugghhh!' Naruto awoke with a start, hyperventilating and unable to breath, heart racing like a race horse, his t-shirt slick with sweat and sticking to his chest, his bed sheet soaked.

He lay there for a few minutes. Trying desperately to calm his furiously beating heart. That nightmare again!

It has haunted him every day since he that day on the bridge. It never went away, no matter how much Naruto tried to chase away his demons. It seems that Zabuza's eyes were always there, watching him, judging him and finding him unworthy.

Strangely at peace with death when they should be panicked, glad when they should be morose.

Naruto turned his head to the side to look at his alarm clock. It was just past five and faint traces of dawn's early light could be seen in the sky, coming through his cracked glass window. He knew, just like every other night, trying to sleep some more now, would be useless.

Now that he had calmed somewhat, Naruto with some monumental effort, scrambled out of bed to do his morning rituals and leave for training. After of course, eating a large helping of eggs and grilled sausages for breakfast.

While the villagers actively shunned and avoided him, the civilian merchants take it one step further by always giving him rotten or out of date produce, and often at three times the price.

But, again evidence of his earlier stupidity, it had taken him all these years to figure out that he could fool those shopkeepers by simply henge-ing into a civilian. But better late that never. As such, he was still the shortest in their group due to his consistent malnutrition.

But now he was making an effort to eat a healthy diet, high in proteins, moderate carbs and low fat. Yes, he knew what those were now. It hadn't taken much effort to get Ayame-neechan to explain it to him. She always liked to mother him.

Haku's face swan in his mind, 'Do have someone precious you want to protect?'

His seemingly innocent question had driven more sleep away from Naruto than Zabuza. Even before the battle of the bridge. Precious people? What a ridiculous question.

He had no precious people. This damn, hateful village wouldn't let him! At first, he thought it was his teammates. But they had proven themselves to not be. Sakura had even said that she hated Naruto in their introduction to Kakashi!

And then he had thought maybe Hinata could be it. But she hadn't supported him. No, she had supported that ass Kiba. Didn't she see how hard he was trying to better himself?

Didn't she see that he trained until he collapsed just to get that damn dead-last label off of him. But no, she hadn't seen it. She hadn't even considered it. Most probably because she was a precious, high and mighty Hyuga princess.

Of course, a no clan orphan like himself would be beneath her notice. Why did he even think he could be friends with her in the first place?

Precious people. Che! Naruto threw the fork down in frustration at his plate, scattering his eggs and smashing his face.

Protein… And it was like a light bulb went on in his head, turning the hate churning inside him into some semblance of hope, unknowingly making a beast growl in frustration.

Ayame! Yes, he could protect her. The teenage civilian girl, who after closing her modest ramen stand for the night, used to feed a hungry young boy for free, even though she and her father couldn't really afford it. And Teuchi-san who served him even though it probably drove customers away.

And Iruka, even with his meagre Academy instructor's salary, always tried to make sure he had enough groceries during his four years in the academy. Yes, they were his precious people! In a village of thousands, he only had three. But that's enough, he supposed.

Much better than the hordes who adore the teme without even knowing him. He would take those three over the hundreds any day. Because while he had no friends, he did have those he cared for. And he would get stronger to protect them.

Once again, pulling himself from his dark thoughts, he hurriedly finished his breakfast. No sense in wasting time. Naruto set out to do battle with another day of training, at least before he was to meet up with his team for a mission.

His route took him to the outskirts of the village, through the residential section and past the clan compounds. However, the blonde hadn't even made it halfway to training ground fifteen, the one furthest away from the centre of the village when he noticed a most peculiar site.

All of the training grounds were empty, however one of them only had two people in it. And from what he could see, they looked to be clones of each, except one of them was much younger. Neither paid any attention to him as it was obvious, they were racing each other the length of the ground, which was substantial.

Once they reached what was their marked finishing line, Naruto thought they would take a break. However, much to his surprise, not only did they not continue sprinting back towards the starting line, they sped up much more.

More to his shock however, was the sight that greeted him when the two came here. In all of his short years, Naruto could safely say that he hadn't seen anything so horrifying. Not only were the eyebrows of both the clones looked like bushes with their own life, they were dressed in green leotards that stuck rather disturbingly to their bodies. Not to mention their similar bowl cut hair.

And the sweat they had accumulated did nothing to hide the outlines of parts that Naruto never wished to see of another man and that of his younger clone. This was beyond disturbing.

But he had noticed that both of them were wearing their leaf headband and cursed himself yet again for losing his.

'Aha!' the older green one exclaimed. 'Who do we have here?!'

Naruto was stunned by the pearly white teeth for a moment before he realised that he should probably answer, lest these two think he was spying on them. 'Umm… I was just on my way to train. Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude. I'm Naruto Uzumaki.'

'OHO! It's always a pleasure to see someone stroke their flames of youth so passionately as to get up to train so early!' the older one grinned and the younger seemed to be taking notes on a notepad.

Weirded out enough by the duo, Naruto did not even want to think about where he could have hidden it, since the suit didn't seem to have any pockets.

Just when Naruto thought he was done with this, the man struck up a pose, pointing at himself, with a wink and said, 'I'm Might Guy, Konoha's Sublime Green Beast of Prey.'

He then motioned to who could easily be his son – and Naruto instantly fell sorry for the boy – 'And this is my student, the very handsome Rock Lee.'

Naruto nodded, now understanding the matching outfits, the haircuts and the eyebrow. They were insane. Both of them. But he wasn't blind to a part of him that felt jealous of this boy.

'PLEASE TO MEET YOU!' the younger one, Rock Lee surged forward and grabbed Naruto's hand that he hadn't offered and shook it vigorously. 'It is great to see someone get up to train so early.'

The boy was so excited that Naruto didn't want to ruin it by telling him that it wasn't by choice. He just couldn't sleep. But then a thought occurred to him. Kakashi didn't seem like he wanted to train Naruto any time soon. Yes, he could do the basics but given his sabotaged education, there was no point in practising something that was already flawed.

And he knew he could hardly get better by training himself. He needed a trainer. That was certain. The mysterious scrolls which had turned up on his bed didn't count. Even the Yondaime and the Sandaime didn't get so strong by training themselves. They had help from their senseis.

'It looks like you were training for conditioning and stamina?' he asked.

Rock Lee nodded. 'We sure are. We do this every morning. This is our cardio workout.'

'Do you mind if I join you. I also need to work on my stamina? I won't be a bother, I promise,' he asked the sensei more than the boy, almost certain he would be denied.

The boy turned to watch his sensei's serious face, who stared at Naruto as if deciphering a puzzle, making him increasingly nervous. He really didn't like that look. Especially on someone like Guy.

'Well of course you can. But only if you drop down now and give me a hundred push-ups!' Guy grinned, giving him what Naruto supposed to be a nice-guy pose and a thumbs up.

That caught Naruto by surprise. He really hadn't been expecting a test but he really should have. Even Kakashi had tested them before allowing them to be his genin. Granted, the insufferably lazy Jounin hadn't taught him much, if anything since then. But that's beside the point.

So, Guy wasn't being unrealistic, even though a hundred push-ups in one go seemed a bit much. Naruto nodded, 'Of course, Guy-sensei,' and put his bag down on the grass.

'YOSH!' Lee punched the air enthusiastically, 'I shall join you my youthful comrade in this youthful endeavour!'

'Well done, Lee. Just what I expect from my student! Let us show the world that we are burning with the passionate flames of youth!'

Okay. Maybe he had made a mistake in asking to join them. But too late now.

Damn, the ground was cold. But no way in hell was he going to show weakness to this weird duo especially now that the boy was going to be doing the same exercise.

So, ignoring the freezing grass, Naruto dropped down in what he thought was the proper form, immediately eliciting a grunt of disapproval from the sensei.

'Clearly my youthful young friend! You need my advice desperately,' Guy exclaimed, shocked at seeing a ninja who didn't know what the right form a push up was. Granted, most of those girls who called themselves kunoichi didn't either, but he wasn't one of them.

'Put your hands almost under your shoulders, shoulder width apart, back and legs straight. When you go down, go all the way until your chest hits the floor, stay for a second, contract your chest muscles and then push back up until your arms are straight. And then continue pushing until you are almost on your fingers. And then repeat!'

Guy quickly summarised the instructions, as Naruto watched Lee do the demonstration, slowly as if Naruto was mentally challenged. Which, the blonde genin was actually glad for this time.

As soon as he had done one, using the proper method not the bullshit that his academy instructors had taught him, he realised it was actually quite hard. And to do a hundred would be a challenge.

Grinning, Naruto got to work, aching already when he got to twenty.

'Come on! Don't stop!' Guy cheered, 'And no cheating with chakra like my eternal rival!'

Naruto wasn't really paying attention to what the sensei meant by cheating with chakra or who this eternal rival was. He was more concerned with his straining muscles, begging to be let down at thirty.

'I can't… Too hard…' Naruto growled but the image of Zabuza calling him weak screamed into his mind. No, he would not back down!

'Don't let yourself fall to the ground. When you want to rest, go in the plank position and continue when ready,' Guy instructed, looking at the blonde genin really struggle to not crash, at fifty.

But he could do it, Guy could tell. He could see that this boy wasn't unfamiliar with effort.

More so, he knew the fire in those eyes. He had seen it in his own, his student's and his father's. And in that moment, Guy knew that this Naruto Uzumaki would rather die than give up.

And he was right. About twenty minutes later, with several short 'breaks', Naruto had crashed into the grass, his arms, core and his legs all screaming in protest. But his mind was racing. His face, though slick with sweat and almost heaving due to lack of breath, was alight with the glow of triumph.

Yes, he would get better. Not today, not tomorrow and maybe not even in the next year. But he would surpass the Uchiha even if his sensei didn't train him.


	7. Chapter 7

_No! That can't be true. NO! _

_It was lie! It had to be! Hinata felt like her legs were made of lead. She couldn't walk. Nor could she think. Her young, naïve mind couldn't comprehend the idea that she might not have her mother in the morning. _

_Mothers were always supposed to be there. Protecting and nurturing their young, teaching them and loving them, sometimes scolding them and watching them grow up. _

_Why then, did outo-sama inform her of this horrendous betrayal?! She was only eight. The little girl with the confidence problems couldn't bear the thought of being left alone in this world. _

_Her mother couldn't betray her like that! She couldn't. She had promised! _

_Hinata trudged, not paying attention to the tears streaming down her face, her pale, lavender eyes like wells of water, so unlike the rest of the unemotional orbs of the Hyuga. But then, she had always been different. The only one she was similar to lay in the bed in her parent's room. _

_As young as she was, even she could understand the sombre mood that had struck the entire compound as she dragged her feet. She should have been hurrying, she knew but she couldn't get herself to face her. _

_Chocking back on a hiccup, Hinata knocked on the sliding door lightly. Her mother was injured, but still a weak voice answered, 'Come in, darling.' _

_She opened the door, and almost fell to the ground in utter shock and dismay. Her beautiful mother lay on the bed, covered by a blanket but even Hinata's premature eyes could see the blood splotches. _

'_Come here, my love,' her mother stretched out of her hand from within the blanket to her daughter. _

_The girl nodded, but knowing that her mother couldn't see. For her eyes were covered by a cloth…_

_Hinata took her mother's hand and sat by her side, 'Mama, what… has… happened,' she sobbed. _

'_Shhh,' Hitomi consoled her young daughter. 'Don't cry… my love…' _

'_Otou-sama said…,' Hinata couldn't bring herself to say the words. The tears dropped on their joined hands. _

'_I know,' Hitomi gave a sad smile, bringing Hinata's hands and kissed it… 'It's time, Hinata…' _

'_NO! NO!' Hinata yelled, 'You can't die! I… I won't let you!' _

'_No one can stop death, darling…' Hitomi was quick to get that notion out of her daughter's head. They didn't have much time and she knew Hinata would need all the guidance she could get. The elders would be unforgiving towards any perceived weakness. _

_Hinata was going to argue but her mother cut her off, 'Hime …,'_

'_Always remember… Oto-san loves, Okaa-chan loves you… Be brave, Hinata. Be strong… But most of all, be kind…,' even on the edge of death's door, Hitomi couldn't bear the thought of her lively and always smiling daughter becoming the emotionless masked females that the Hyuga insisted on. 'There are… too many cruel people in this world anyway. Promise me…' _

'_Yes… Yes, I promise,' Hinata cried, throwing herself forward and hugging her mother's injured body._

_Hitomi, as she hugged her back fiercely, wished more than anything to be able to see her daughters just one more time. She had already said her goodbye to three old Hanabi. But her youngest was too young to know what was going on. _

'_Goodbye, my love.' _

_But as fate would have it, she was spared the image of her daughter in agony. For Hitomi had already passed away. _

'_Mama! Mama!' Hinata shook her mother. 'No, no please. You can't leave! Wake up! Wake up! Mama I need you!' _

_Her yells and cries had attracted the attention of the other maids nearby who rushed into the room. _

_Hinata's jostling had taken the cloth off her mother's eyes, making the maids wince as one of them hurried to replace the cloth. The sight that greeted her was one she would never forget. _

'_NOO!' Hinata screamed, dread washing over her, turning to rage unlike anything the little girl had ever felt which in turn turned to hate. Hate for those who had committed this heinous crime against an angel like her mother. _

_Hitomi's eyelids were open but the pale eyes of the Hyuga weren't seen. For they were missing._

* * *

'Okaa-chan!' Hinata woke, looking towards the door leading to her parent's chambers, wishing for her mother to come and sooth her back to sleep from the nightmare.

But then the thirteen-year-old realised, it was not a nightmare. It was her memory. Her mother was not going to come for her.

'Let it end, just let it end…,' Hinata took a deep, hitching breath and fell back onto the bed, sobbing into her pillow for a good long while.

Ever since her mother had died from the injuries, she had suffered on a mission gone wrong, and came back with her eyes missing, Hinata couldn't get the image out of her head.

And although the memory didn't arise that often anymore, it still came to her when she was particularly stressed, plaguing her thoughts and sleep.

'I… I miss you,' Hinata cried, paying no attention to the tears staining her pillowcase. The maids were all used to it at this point. Even though they used to ask of her before, they had ceased to some years ago. 'I miss you so much, Okaa-chan.'

As her body was still racked with sobs, like it usually was when she had that dream, Hinata lay in bed until she had calmed down sufficiently. Looking at the fancy alarm clock on her side table, it was just past eight.

'Oh… oh my,' Hinata almost jumped out of bed, in her hurry to get to the washroom. If she didn't hurry, she would end up being late for training with her team. She didn't usually oversleep her alarm but this time, she had ignored it, trying to calm down.

The maids had washed her clothes and they had laid her ninja gear on the dresser and her jacket. She was a Hyuga, even if she was the worst one and thus was aware of what people thought of her dressing in her bulky jacket.

It had become obvious in the academy but no one ever said it of course. Even they knew that insulting the heiress to the Hyuga clan, albeit a weak one, was a one way to ticket to incite trouble and invite Hiashi's wrath on them.

But she was much too shy to dress in form fitting clothes. She desperately hoped to overcome it one day and be as confident as kunoichis like Sakura-san and Ino-san, who were very comfortable in their bodies or Kurenai-sensei.

Hinata was well aware of the effect all three had on boys and men and that the three even relished it to a point. Unlike them, she had no such interest. Well, except for one boy. But it seems it was her fate that he never seems to notice her, always looking to the much prettier, and confident Sakura. Not that she blamed him of course.

'Oh, you're in a hurry, Hinata-sama,' said a Nanao Hyuga, a maid from the branch family as she entered, wearing a maid's apron over the traditional Hyuga robes.

'Y…Yes, Nanao-san,' Hinata replied, sipping her miso soup in as hurriedly dignified manner as she could. It would not do to look like Kiba. She saved herself from snorting by the sudden comical image in her mind. She couldn't imagine someone like Kiba in such a strict and organised household like hers. 'Meeting the team!'

Nanao nodded, and went on to remove the sheets of the bed, throwing a kind sort of smile at the young girl as she saw the pillow damp with tear spots. A couple of years ago, she would have asked if Hinata-sama was okay, but with the embarrassment it causes the poor girl every time, she had stopped asking.

It wasn't really well known that the young heiress doesn't stutter with those she feels some comfortable with. Unfortunately, most of the Hyuga, her own clan weren't included in this list. As far as Nanao knew, Hinata was only comfortable with her team, and Hanabi-sama or maybe herself.

No matter how many times Hinata had asked Nanao not to call her sama, the friendly maid would still address her with proper deference. Hinata wasn't that naïve as to think it was just because she liked her, unlike most of her clan.

Any disrespect or perceived disrespect could be punished by activating the seal. Hinata had seen it a few times, and her heart went out the those of the branch families.

She had once or twice commented about the unnecessity of it, and was punished dearly for it. She hadn't dared since then.

But it was no wonder that some in the branch families held contempt for those in the main branch. And she may be one of them soon.

No! She shook her head. There was no use having such useless thoughts. She dreaded her future children being given the seal, and would do everything she could to prevent it. Hinata snuck a look at Nanao-san, who was busy laying down the fresh sheets on her bed.

Even though she was a chunin, she was relegated to the work of a maid within the clan when she wasn't on duty. It really was unfair. And a waste of her skills. However, it wasn't that Hinata didn't like her that kept her from being open with the maid. It was her that she couldn't read.

Unlike the elders and her father's eyes, which held only contempt for her, Hinata didn't see that in some of the branch family members. Sometimes, in Nanao-san's eyes, Hinata saw pity but that wasn't uncommon. She hated it but it was the truth. But it was the hope she sometimes saw in her maid's eyes before it was quickly covered, that confused her.

Who would hope for her? Why? And why would they lay their hopes in her?

And it was with these thoughts, that she was shocked when Nanao-san said, 'Hinata-sama. Hiashi-sama wishes for you too meet with him when you return from your training.'

Hinata's head snapped up, wondering what her father could say to her now. Her relationship with her father had started deteriorating ever since Hanabi-chan had started showing her potential in the way of Jyuken.

'Okay, Nanao-san,' Hinata replied, knowing that this was no request but the maid had changed the wording to probably soften the manner in which it was said.

She didn't envy her younger sister. Okay, maybe she did, a little. But more than that, she was worried for her. She was too young for the Hyuga council to burden her.

There was also a burgeoning hope that her father might want to see her for her training. But she better than to put much stock in such hopes. It had never turned out well for her in the past.

She didn't want to think about the last time he had summoned her like this after they had returned from the mission to Wave. She didn't want to think about his eyes when he learned of her little contribution in the mission. And that she allowed the boys to battle the rogue-nin.

Hinata had known that there was no use lying to him in order to hide her failure, even if she was brave enough to do so. He probably had already read the mission reports, being on the Shinobi Council as he was.

But she would worry about the nature of this meeting when she returned. There was no use in stressing herself out now before her team training and likely a mission or two.

With that, she packed her lunch and hurried out of the house before she could be summoned by her father, in case the Hyuga head changed his mind.

It didn't take long for her to reach training ground eight where her team met. Hinata tried to not pay much attention to the fact that it was right opposite training ground seven where Naruto-kun's team meets. Or she would probably not be able to pay attention to anything.

Even if Kakashi-sensei was a celebrated and accomplished Jounin with much experience, Hinata didn't envy team 7. For even if Kurenai-sensei wasn't a ninjutsu specialist or focused on taijutsu, at least she was on time.

Not that the newly minted Jounin wasn't strong in taijutsu. Hinata hadn't managed to beat her in even one of the spars they've had since the formation of their team.

* * *

'Good morning Hinata,' Kurenai greeted her genin, who very unlike her, was almost late and had shown up even after Kiba.

'Hai, g…good morning, sensei,' Hinata replied meekly.

Kurenai immediately picked up on her genin's discomfort. She usually didn't stutter with her. Something must have happened in the morning. Shino probably picked up on it too, given the slight raise of his head. Kiba as usual was oblivious and excited to get started.

Knowing she would do no good by bringing attention to whatever it was in front of her teammates, she resolved to ask Hinata about it later.

'Are we training already or what?' Kiba whined impatiently, with Akamaru giving a bark as if he agreed too.

'Patience, Kiba,' Kurenai reminded the brash Inuzuka again yet again. She wondered why she had been given a brash Inuzuka who, like his clan focuses on nintaijutsu. Sarutobi was well aware that she had little patience for men who don't tend to think.

But then again, given the alternate was Uzumaki, she would rather take Kiba. Yes, she had heard about his surprising ability to create shadow clones, but given what he was, it wasn't that surprising that he would have the chakra capacity to do so.

'First of all, I need you all three to warm up. Run around the ground for five laps, then we'll get started.'

'Hai,' the genin replied and quickly got to it, with Hinata meekly shuffling and putting her things away before taking off after her teammates.

Kurenai sighed. She knew she was a newly minted Jounin and that it would take some time for her to get her genin to shed their bad habits, but so far, they hadn't changed much since the last day of the academy.

She remembered the day like it was yesterday when she had visited the academy the week before the exam, to observe the genin she had been given the files on.

That could change depending on the exam scores and the number of genin who pass but better safe than sorry was her motto.

And so, she had cloaked herself in a double layered genjutsu and observed Iruka's class. Unlike what the current rookies thought, there were more genin than just one graduating class. After all, it would be highly impractical to pass only nine ninja a year.

Not only would they not have enough to patrol their borders, but they would be at a very high disadvantage if the Leaf were to be suddenly at war with the likes of Kumo or Iwa.

As such, most of the students who do not pass the genin exam and the subsequent test by their respective jounin instructors, were either sent back to the academy or sent to ninja boot camp.

She didn't know who headed that, but she had heard that he was one sadistic maniac and had a talent for converting the bootcamp ninja into chunin within a maximum of two years.

Being a jounin however, Kurenai had access to higher security clearance and was well aware that Konoha currently had forty thousand ninja on its active roster, with almost twenty thousand in the village.

While this number was certainly more than Kiri and Suna – not to mention those hidden villages not in the Great Five – they weren't as much as Kumo or Iwa boasted. The two larger hidden villages naturally had more ninja. But Kurenai was of the opinion that Konoha had better quality of shinobi.

After all, they had won the last war. Kumo and Iwa had surrendered, with heavy penalties.

Nearing their fifth round, Hinata was somewhat winded, Shino looked like he could go another round or so before needing a break. Kiba, the energetic alpha he was, seemed to be in high spirits.

Sighing, she was reminded of their recent painful encounter with the rogue-nin on their recent mission. Her team should never have been sent. What was Sarutobi thinking? She had been furious when she realised who their enemy was.

However, it also reminded her that she couldn't coddle her genin any longer. They needed to get stronger.

'Okay, warm up's over,' she called out.

Hinata needed to catch her breath for almost two minutes as she cooled down. She saw the serious look in her sensei's face and instantly knew that if Kiba tried his whining today or crack a joke, he would regret it.

'Now, you have all had a week's break after coming back from Wave and then a week of normal D rank missions,' Kurenai-sensei began, and Hinata listened with rapt attention. She was aware that she hadn't performed well in their first ever C-rank mission and was eager to improve. 'I want your opinions on your own performances.'

'I would have kicked the ice freak's ass if Naruto-dobe hadn't gone bursting in like the idiot he is,' Kiba growled, punching his fist, though he did wilt a bit seeing Kurenai's glare.

'That is not true,' Shino however shook his head, 'You ask why. That is because your attacks weren't having an effect on his ice blocks from the outside, Kiba.'

However, the Inuzuka took the criticism the wrong way and immediately flamed up, 'Are you saying I'm weaker than the dobe?!' The dobe had, for some inexplicable reason, been able to break one of the mirrors.

Shino shook his head, clearly his teammate was unwilling to see their own faults, 'I did not. However, since Naruto-san's attacks worked and ours didn't lends some credence to that assumption.'

'Why you little…!' Kiba was indignant. It was bad enough that the dobe had somehow shown him up on their first ever C-rank mission but now even his team were siding with the dead-last, conveniently forgetting that Hinata hadn't said anything.

'Ano… I think…' Hinata tried to defuse the tension but Kurenai had enough of the bickering.

'Enough!'

All three genin quietened immediately, looking at their sensei who looked quite disappointed in them.

And disappointed she was, as evident by her tone. 'It is clear to me now that ever since our joint training session Team 10, you have become overconfident in your training.'

Hinata's eyes widened as she vigorously shook her head. While it was true that she had been marginally better than Ino-san that day, she was far from overconfident in her own abilities. But she also knew it was wise not to interrupt their sensei now.

Kiba however, hadn't realised that. 'What? Of course, not…' but wilted at the harsh look on the normally cheerful Jounin's face.

Kurenai stood, and paced, well aware that she was making her team uncomfortable but they needed to learn the lesson. They needed to come to the conclusion themselves. Her merely telling them their flaws would do little to no good. In Kiba's case, it could also backfire.

'Shino,' she said, and immediately noted the boy sat up straighter. Although nothing else in his posture changed. 'Again, I want you to reflect on your own performance.'

Shino stayed quiet for a few seconds before offering, 'I have realised that my ninjutsu is not versatile enough to combat wide range attacks, such as Haku's ice blasts. I was also chakra exhausted quickly.'

Kurenai nodded. While he had missed out a crucial point, knowing Shino it was probably because he didn't think it was logical rather than to hide his flaw. She would be talking about it though, if one of the others didn't bring it up.

'Kiba?' she prompted him.

This time, the Inuzuka wisely kept any problems to himself and didn't grumble like last time. He did however, surprise her by thinking before speaking this time.

'I wasn't fast enough,' he said with a disgruntled look. It was an oversimplification based on misguided pride. But that was understandable since the Inuzukas prided themselves on the fastest taijutsu style in Konoha. And she agreed, for the most part.

As expected, Hinata was the most aware of her flaws. Whether she would know how to go about correcting it, was a different matter entirely.

'Ano… my… taijutsu wasn't strong enough,' Hinata pushed her fingers together like was her habit when she was nervous. 'My Byakugan wasn't fast enough to keep track of him.'

'And… I was scared,' Hinata's finished quietly.

This likely caused her more shame, Kurenai guessed. She knew Hinata had become used to the constant belittling of her abilities that she had faced as a child. By her father, and the elders.

What she wouldn't do to be able to beat the arrogance out of those white-eyed emotionless bastards. Here she was trying to build up this girl's confidence, and every day Hinata went back home and they were back to square one.

But that was a problem for later. Maybe she needed a specialist's opinion.

Kurenai responded, 'Good,' thinking that maybe that might cheer up the girl somewhat. It was clear she was very hung up on her performance last mission.

'To be fair,' Kurenai added, 'You three have barely been genin more than two months. It is unfair for anyone to expect you to fight perfectly well against Chunin and above. The fact that all three of you survived without any debilitating injuries is a testament to your hard work.'

She needed to make sure they didn't think that she didn't appreciate the effort they were putting in. True to her words, all three children brightened up. Well, it was hard to tell with Shino.

'But it was also obvious that we have been neglecting an essential part of the training,' Kurenai partly blamed herself for it. 'That of endurance, stamina and strength. Let me perfectly clear, for we need to improve not only for missions but for another reason as well… which I will tell you later.'

'Shino, your ninjutsu needs to be varied yes, but you also need to work more on your taijutsu more than your clan abilities which I think you are sufficiently well-versed in. Like Haku did, any ninja Chunin level or above can figure out your weakness by the first two moves you make and know that you're a long range fighter and work to counter it, like Haku did.'

Shino nodded, although a tad stiffly for her liking. Perhaps he thought it sounded like an insult to his clan who almost all of them focus on their bugs.

'Kiba,' and the kid with the dog perked up. 'You and Akamaru need better teamwork and coordination. But that will come with time. Having said that, you need to be an independent ninja as well and not depend on Akamaru so much. What Haku did was the classic divide and conquer approach, where he took out Akamaru and then fought you. You also let your emotions cloud your judgement when he attacked Akamaru. I know he's your partner but you need a handle on your emotions in missions and especially during battle.'

Akamaru whined a little, in protest, she imagined but Kiba wisely didn't share what the pup had said, but only nodded in response, his earlier excitement subdued a little. She imagined it would brighten up for what they were going to do next.

'Hinata,' Kurenai sighed, knowing the girl was still quite fragile. 'Yes, your taijutsu was weak.'

Hinata wilted and seem to shrink within herself. So Kurenai was quick to console her with the up side. 'But it was expected when fighting against a Jounin level ninja. No one expected you to defeat him.'

That did little to help the timid girl, and so she added. 'Let's not forget that you weren't the only genin he defeated. But your main problem in your battle were your nerves. They caused you to second guess yourself multiple times and caused your attacks to falter.'

Hinata nodded, having realised the same herself. She had faltered in her attacks multiple times and Haku had capitalised on it, even though he didn't injure her. Probably because of Naruto, her mind added. Once again, the blonde ninja had come to her rescue, albeit unknowingly.

'All in all,' Kurenai prepared to end her case, seeing that the genin and her were on the same page now. 'If Team 7 hadn't been present and if Haku had been a more ruthless shinobi, I would doubt the outcome of the fight would be the same.'

It was said quiet leniently, but they all knew the meaning. They would be dead if Haku had wanted them dead. The fact he only injured them and used senbon was a part not a little confusing to them. Perhaps because he had turned out to be Naruto's friend.

How was Kakashi's student this stupid was something Kurenai could not understand. He had talked to and given information to a passer by and who had turned out to be an enemy ninja. It was a serious error in judgement that Kakashi was willing to let slide.

Before her students could get bogged down in reflection again, and they seem to be swaying dangerously close to a topic that was an S-ranked secret in their village in their hushed whispers, Kurenai decided to turn the tables.

'Okay, enough reflection. Stand up,' she ordered and her genin obeyed immediately. 'From now onwards, we will focus more on stamina, and taijutsu until we have all improved a decent amount and then we'll add in other things. Now, you all have your own specific katas.

Shino, you use the style your father taught you. Shino and Hinata, you spar. One of you will purely attack, and the other will defend. Then swap. Kiba, you're with me.'

'Alright. Time to get some blood pumping,' Kiba jumped in the air. Clearly, thinking and reflecting was not his forte.

As expected, Hinata was shakier today than she had been on previous sessions. She wasn't able to block or defend Shino's attacks that she would have had no problem with before. As such, Kurenai felt it necessary to pair Hinata up with herself and go throw the same cycle.

With careful encouragement, of her defence and attacks, Hinata improved slightly, mainly as her nerves had settled. The main problem with Kurenai was that she was not aware of Jyuken's katas and couldn't instruct her properly in the art. She needed someone who was.

And unfortunately, that wasn't possible unless she went to Hiashi and asked him. There must be some other way!

Even more disturbing was the fact that she clearly sees bruised wrists and shins, red on the verge of turning purple. Hinata kicks and Kurenai easily dodges, slowing down her speed to imitate a sort of real spar for genin. Hinata barely blocks a punch and lashes out with an open palm to her stomach.

A little impressed with the viciousness of the assault, Kurenai pretended to be caught off guard and decided to let it by and see how far she would be willing to take it. However, she was again disappointed when expectedly Hinata, at the last minute, subtly changed the trajectory of her palm, and only grazed her abdomen.

She was too kind. It was a good thing in life. But in battle, it was a disaster and was likely to get herself killed. It wasn't that she didn't have the skills, which she definitely did.

Kurenai immediately backed off, and instead of dodging right like Hinata clearly expected her to and went in for another palm strike, Kurenai lashed out with a round house kick. It struck true, confirming Kurenai's earlier suspicions about Hinata and the way of Jyuken.

From what she had gathered over the years, having worked with several Hyugas – she refused to think about Matatai – Jyuken was a complicated, strict set of katas, a set of a very defined movements.

That wasn't to say it wasn't brutal and highly effective. In fact, it was the most devastating taijutsu style in Konoha and probably the elemental nations. Which also explains why the Hyugas guard their secrets so jealously.

But Hinata's style and personality didn't suit it very well. What she needed was a style from which she could seamlessly flow from one movement into another. Where she didn't have to halt her momentum and change track so suddenly.

Taijutsu was very much like a dance, Kurenai liked to think so. Where one has to adjust their movements in response to the opponents.

However, Jyuken wasn't like that. Which conflicted with Hinata's lack of ability to stop her attack in a moment's notice and change it up with another move.

'Aaarghh,' Hinata went down instantly, a few feet away but hesitantly got up again, swaying on her feet before she lowered her centre of gravity in the Jyuken style and waited.

Smiling, Kurenai nodded. Hinata wasn't hopeless. No, she was improving. Whereas two months ago, she wouldn't even have gotten up after a defeat, this time she did, albeit hesitantly.

Whereas two months, she wouldn't have known to change tactics and now she did. Her instincts were well tuned and she could change strikes subtly. Yes, Hinata had a lot of potential.

If only she believed in herself. Looking to her watch, three hours had already gone by and Kakashi was about to arrive at his spot.

Signalling to the three genin, she called them to her, 'Good. I trust this session has shown you the importance of getting out of comfort zone in training.' All three nodded expectedly. They hadn't just sparred. Kurenai had put them through the paces with endurance training. 'I'm glad. Now, for the next part of today's exercise.'

She was met with curious looks. Clearly her team was expecting them to go on a mission like they usually do, albeit it was later than normal.

'Espionage.'

Quite predictably, her words were met with shocked looks.

* * *

**AN: First of all, thank you to all those who have reviewed, favourited and followed.**

**Now to address the latest review this story has gotten. By Forensi and i quote:**

**_'For all those who plan to read this story._**

**_This author right here, the one who considers Hinata to be a great character, literally made Hinata cheat on Naruto with Kiba and Sasuke in his other fanfic and STILL made bullshit excuses for her and planned to pair her with Naruto because his sick mind likes to torment Naruto by getting him to stay with the spinless bitch that cucked him._**

**_And hope you don't delete this RinneganSage, that would be a pretty pathetic move on your part.'_**

* * *

**So, yes I like Hinata as a character. You say she is a spineless bitch. I don't know if you have ever met children who have been neglected and/or abused (Hinata, Sasuke, Naruto) but they don't turn out to be perfectly, well functioning members of society without some therapy, counselling or at the very least a support system. Hinata had none of that. **

**She was very young when her mother died, and ever since then she had been subjected to frequent humiliation and made sure she knew how pathetic and weak she was, by her father of all people. Not to mention the hate that her cousin projected onto her for the practices of the clan. All in all, she was a child under 10 who had been subjected to this treatment and when we met her, she was twelve or thirteen. That is a lot of time for all those insecurities to set in and solidify.**

**Secondly, yes in my previous story Naruto - Shadow, I had Hinata cheat on Naruto with Kiba but I had a very good reason for that. The Hyuga were predictably not happy with their relationship and sought to form a union that befitted the clan and gets rid of their heiress in one go. Hiashi used Kiba ad his jealousy. Towards the end of the story, I had planned for it to be revealed that Naruto's leaving of Konoha and the vote to seal his chakra was all staged, for fooling the normal ninja and civilians.**

**In short, there would be a war with Kiri with Naruto as Commander in Chief of the Kiri armies, and Konoha would win the war. Kiri would face severe sanctions etc.**

**In the end, when Naruto would have died in a conflict with Konoha, and it would have been revealed that all the valuable intel they had gained for the last few years that had allowed them to stay ahead of their enemies, was all the result of Naruto, who was working for the ANBU and his leaving Konoha was all staged so he could infiltrate the ranks of Kiri ninja.**

**As for Hinata, it was my plan for her to grow as a ninja and know what being in love means. That its not just saying you love someone but also facing the challenges that come with it, and stick with them. It would have turned out, with both Hinata - who had become a very accomplished kunoichi and medic - and Naruto's deaths, that the Hyuga clan had conspired with the Kurama clan to cast a very skillfully crafted genjutsu which was meant to convince the naive thirteen year old girl that the Kyuubi in Naruto was fooling her into having feelings for Naruto. She would have eventually broken through it as her byakugan grew stronger but by then it would have been too late.**

**But I had time for none of that because well, I had exams and third year research project.**

**So in short, Forensi, if you don't like it, don't fucking read it!**

**Peace.**


	8. Chapter 8

Naruto was sore. Sorer than he had ever been in his life. And considering that his broken arm could heal within half a day, that was saying something. He cursed his own stupidity! What the hell had possessed him to disregard what Guy had suggested, and put on more weights than 20kg.

A week had passed since Naruto had met the odd neon-green duo, but so far in his life as genin, he could safely say that it had been the most productive. Given that his lazy ass sensei was not going to train him, he had gratefully agreed to Guy's suggestion of using weights to increase his speed, stamina and endurance.

Every day, he trained in the morning with his weights on, then went back to his apartment and dropped them off before joining his team. Every day since then, he had challenged Sasuke to a spar, and every day he had lost. Abysmally in some cases. But still, Naruto persevered. But it was what happened yesterday which took the cake.

* * *

_They had just finished team training, which was a joke, and Naruto had just lost another spar with Sasuke when Kakashi told him to stay back. _

_A number of questions went through his head. Had Kakashi learnt of the scrolls? Had he learnt of his weights? Or that he had been training with Guy and Lee? Was he going to forbid him from it? As his sensei, could the guy restrict his training even more than he was doing now? _

_Kakashi waited until both Sasuke and Sakura were out of the ground before addressing the boy, who likely would start yelling. 'Naruto… You have to stop this!' He said bluntly. _

_A look on confusion spread across the whiskered face, 'What do you mean Kakashi-sensei?' _

_Kakashi resisted the urge to glare at the boy, 'You know what I mean, Naruto. I want you to stop challenging Sasuke every time you guys meet.' _

_Now Naruto was really confused, 'Wait what? How am I supposed to get stronger then? Aren't we supposed to spar with teammates?' Where was this idiot-sensei going with this? _

_Kakashi shook his head, 'Normally yes. But in this case, no. Yours and Sasuke's rivalry has gone beyond the point of normal competitiveness. Its damaging the teamwork, don't you see. You challenge Sasuke, Sakura gets angry, Sasuke gets moody for wasting time and then you don't work together well for missions.' _

'_But what about my taijutsu training?' Naruto couldn't give a flying fuck if Sasuke was a moody bastard. He was always moody. _

'_You can train with Sakura. That is when you have finished bringing your basics up to par with your teammates. Until then, Sakura will be training on her endurance and stamina. And you on your chakra control,' Kakashi gave him an eye-smile, trying to give what he wanted with but piece by piece. _

_Seeing that Naruto was about to argue, he continued, 'And when you progress, then you can start sparring with Sasuke again. Right now, it's nothing but a waste of time for both you and him. You're not learning anything by getting beaten around and he's not learning anything new by doing the same thing again and again.' _

_Naruto grumbled at the unfairness of it all. 'But I'm already better than Sakura-chan!' _

_Kakashi shook his head. Why did he have to get genin who refused to see what teamwork actually meant. 'Naruto teamwork doesn't mean you have to be stronger than your teammate. It means you have to be stronger together.' _

_The blonde ninja glared at his hypocritical sensei, 'Then why do you train Sasuke alone. Why is he getting stronger alone?' _

_Kakashi knew that the blonde had a point there. But he couldn't just tell him the truth. That Sasuke was truly a flight risk. And Konoha couldn't have its last Uchiha run away on his foolish revenge quest and get killed by his much stronger brother. He wasn't ready to face Itachi yet. And if Sasuke tried, it would undoubtedly result in his death. _

_But he decided to appeal to Naruto's sense of nobility. The ninja had that in spades. 'Naruto… I'll be honest with you… Sasuke's… too consumed with revenge. He needs my attention to stay straight. And with his Sharingan maturing, I am the only one who can teach him.' _

_Naruto only saw one flaw in Kakashi's answer. It didn't fucking have anything to do with him! Having Sakura train for stamina made sense, since hers was shitty. But that still left him. And his anger grew at the sensei. _

'_Fine!' he spat turning away rapidly, 'I won't ask him for spars or you for training!' _

_Unlike what his sensei thought, Naruto wasn't sparring with Sasuke because he had a fetish for being beaten but because he was analysing Sasuke's moves and katas. _

_For the past week, Naruto had stationed multiple shadow clones at different points so they could observe and take notes on Sasuke's fancy moves from different angles. Sadly, Naruto had realised two things after the first attempt at stalking Sasuke. _

_One, Sasuke lived in a flat, and not in the Uchiha district like he had thought. Two, he had a very good chance of running into his other fangirls who also stalked him. And being caught whilst stalking the resident heart throb was a bad idea. And so, Naruto had resorted to observing Sasuke during training. _

_Even sadder was the fact that Naruto couldn't hide clones to observe Sasuke's fight with Kakashi because the sensei was too observant. He would surely pick up on it and then he would have to confess what he had been doing. _

_Kakashi may have called for him after he had walked away but Naruto was too pissed to reply._

* * *

And so, Naruto after the 'team training' had changed his leg and arm weights. 20 kg was doing nothing for him and he had gotten used to it in three days. Instead of having 20 kg on his arms and legs, Naruto had strapped on 20 kg on each arm, leg, waist and chest and did his training with those on. So, a total of 80 kg on his person.

And he was paying for it now, as he trudged back, taking step after careful step away from Team Guy's training ground.

'Ughh,' Naruto grunted, having to sit on the bench nearby, exhausted and in pain as he was. 'I'm an idiot.'

'I agree,' came the reply from nearby in that droning voice he had heard two weeks ago.

'Ahh!' Naruto whipped around, and immediately his aching muscles told him it wasn't a good idea. He would have jumped if his body had been able to. 'Old man. Fancy seeing you here.'

The only response he got from the bandaged _creep_ was a narrowing of his lone eye, 'Coincidental.'

Naruto snorted. If that was true, he would eat the Hokage's hat. But for now, he let the old man say that until he figured out what he wanted with him. 'I'm sure.'

In front of him was a different board game. This time, he recognised it instantly. Shikamaru used to play it in the academy. 'Shogi.'

'Indeed,' the man replied, already having set up the pieces. 'Also called the General's game. Do you know the rules?'

Naruto shook his head. He had never paid much attention, if at all, in the academy. 'No.'

'Hmm,' the old man nodded his head and without prompting, proceeded to explain the basic rules and strategies to him.

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the man. What was this crippled freak up to? Naruto had realised that this man did nothing for no reason.

And so, he tried to figure him out, since it was too early to show up at training ground seven. Not that Naruto could even walk that far without taking his weights off.

The man inwardly smirked as the boy, without any prompting, had taken the seat in front of him, and was listening intently to him.

So what if Hiruzen had forbidden him to train the vessel? He never said anything about not playing a game with him. And if the boy was smart, as he knew he was, he would apply what he learnt from a simple board game to other, more useful things.

Naruto knew that he was going to lose every time he played the man. So, the first five times was no surprise. Not that Naruto wasn't learning. No, he was learning about his 'enemy' in this case.

The man never did anything without a reason. Every move was well planned, executed, and unpredictable. The man sacrificed his own pawns, rooks and knights without a second thought if it was going to give him a favourable position to trap Naruto.

What kind of man did that make him? Devious to be sure. This man was deception personified; Naruto was beginning to realise.

Was he like this in real life as well? Just as clinically efficient in combat? In personal relationships? Somehow, he didn't think the man had any personal relationships.

The man, for the most part knew what the boy was doing and it amused him to no end. Not that any of the amusement even showed on his face. The day this boy was able to read him was the day he would eat the Hokage's hat.

That's not to say he wasn't impressed by it. The vessel had improved since his time in the academy, he knew. Not just because of the reports he had gotten but it was also obvious. Whether that idiot Kakashi saw it or not, was another matter entirely.

If deception was a shinobi's greatest strength, then the mind was the muscle that wielded it. And the boy was improving his mind. Of that there was no doubt.

The boy was unpredictable and relentless, as he reset the board for the sixth time. He had that at least going for him. The boy was failing to adapt his moves, none of which were too clever, to his own strategies. But that wasn't the point. He was thinking how to outmanoeuvre him, which was the important part.

Too many nations train their vessels to be hammers, forces of mass destruction. But he knew better. In the Shinobi world, a ninja needed to be a scalpel as well as a hammer. A follower as well as the leader, the knight as well as the general. That was especially true for those such as Uzumaki.

True, the boy's development had been severely stunted by the fools in the academy. But better late than never. He knew he was taking a risk by meeting the boy like this every few weeks, but it was for Konoha.

Naruto smiled the sixth time his king got checked. He might have lost again, but this time it had taken ten moves instead of eight. He kept his smugness as hidden as he could, lest the man thought he had learnt nothing from the book.

As if he read his mind, the man asked, 'What did you think about the book?'

If Naruto was on edge before, he was suspicious now. How had the man even known he had finished reading it? 'I liked it. But I don't agree with some of his points.'

'Oh?' was the man's reply, with a raised eyebrow. 'You think you know better?'

Naruto shook his head. No, he had been cured of that idiocy in Wave. 'No, I don't agree with the part about not relaxing in front enemies and a shinobi should always resort to ninjutsu, last.'

'And why is that?' the man responded. Anyone can disagree just for sake of disagreeing but to present a logical counter-argument was another matter entirely.

Naruto shrugged, 'I think it's counterproductive to the idea of deception.' He knew such words now after having to look them up in the dictionary many times. 'If you are tensed, the enemy will likely be on their guard and expect something to happen. Why give them a head's up when you can take them off-guard.'

The man smirked, pleased at the boy for having reasoned as such. It was what he himself had said to the Nidaime years ago.

And so, he responded with the reason his sensei had given him, 'Because most of the time, it benefits more to show the enemy that you are aware of him and that you will not be intimidated or fooled. That you don't fear. It's better to make them fear you. If you are relaxed, you have more chances of missing when the enemy deceives you. Because while you were relaxing, you forgot that the enemy was studying you.'

Naruto had the decency to blush at being caught red-handed. However, it was time to take into account something he had learnt, and try for some active information gathering.

Naruto nodded, pretending to think it over. 'And I'm almost sure that the last few chapters were added in by someone else and not the Nidaime.'

The man stayed silent for a second. But then, unpredictably, he shifted gears, 'You have taken to learning from that neon-green wearing ninja.'

Naruto was having trouble keeping up with the man jumping from topic to topic. How did the man know about Guy? His eyes narrowed in further suspicion. This was getting weirder every time.

As if he had heard Naruto's unasked question, the man answered, 'I can see the outlines of the weights under your clothes. And your muscles are stiff and sore, judging by how you walked and sat over here. There are only two other ninja in Konoha who use such an outdated method of training.'

Naruto almost growled in protest at the insult to Guy. But then he remembered Tobirama's lesson of keeping his temper and releasing it an opportune moment. This wasn't it.

And from the look in the man's one eye and the crooked smile, the creep knew it too.

'What do you mean?' Naruto asked instead. 'Outdated?'

The man sighed audibly, which was a new, as far as Naruto had learnt about him. Unless the sigh had a purpose as well. A signal maybe.

'There are other ways of increasing one's speed and strength without loading unnecessary weights on himself.'

Naruto was now intrigued, 'Is it better?', he asked excitedly.

'Merely it has different results,' the man answered noncommittally. He was curious as to how long the boy thought he could keep up dancing around the issue. He hadn't been a veteran of two shinobi wars and not have learned that something else was troubling the boy.

In his opinion, if the boy kept fixating on his personal problems like a child, he would never get strong.

But it was no use telling him that… yet. The boy needed to come to that conclusion himself. Only then will it truly change him.

'What is it called?' Naruto asked the man, somewhat suspiciously. Guy had told him that nothing worth having, comes through taking shortcuts in life. And Naruto wholeheartedly agreed with that.

So, he was surprised when the man responded and it wasn't a shortcut. At least, it didn't sound like it.

'It is called Fuuinjutsu. Also known as sealing jutsu. It can be used for many things such as summoning weapons or animals to fight, or binding and trapping enemies. Explosive seals use Fuuinjutsu as well. In some cases, Fuuinjutsu is much stronger than ninjutsu or genjutsu.'

Naruto loved the sound of that. If he could learn one art and use it for so many different things in a fight. It would be awesome. He fought hard to control his excitement at such a prospect. At least until, the man ended his explanation with, 'Weight training can be done with weight and resistance seals but the method is… dangerous.'

'Dangerous?' Naruto asked confusedly. 'How so?' There goes his excitement.

'Sealing is a very complicated art, needing extreme chakra control, although not as much as medical ninjutsu. If the seals which are applied on your body go wrong, it can be… disastrous. Exploding limbs is the least concern then.'

Naruto blanched and nodded, knowing he wasn't going to be attempting anything that blow off his limbs anytime soon. 'Can Fuuinjutsu be learnt using books?' knowing against it but hoping that the man would say yes.

Surprisingly, the man nodded, 'The basics of the sealing can be learnt using books, yes. But then one needs the instruction of a Master.'

'I need a sensei,' Naruto admitted grumpily, having gotten tired of dancing around the sore subject.

'You already have one,' the man pointed out, now packing up the shogi board and chips.

Naruto eyed the scroll the man had taken out, weirdly. What the hell was he going to do with that? 'I need a new sensei. Kakashi teaches me nothing!'

'You are a genin. You are responsible for your own training,' the man replied, laying the board on top of the opened scroll, which had a weird design printed on it. Naruto's stomach did a backflip and he struggled to contain his shock.

He recognised the design. Somewhat. Barely. Knowing that the man would surely tell him of his failure of keeping his emotions in check, he shifted his attention on something else.

'I can't train myself all the time. I need some guidance,' Naruto grumbled to the old man. 'Even the Yondaime didn't get that good without a sensei.'

'The Yondaime's sensei was a fool!' the man spat and paused.

The creep seemed to be thinking of something because he didn't speak for a few minutes. Naruto could sense something was happening. He could sense the man gathering chakra. Although he didn't know how he knew that. But the man sat still, not doing anything.

What the hell was he moulding chakra for? And how the hell was he doing it? Both of his hands were on the table. He could hardly mould chakra without using hand-signs. Iruka sensei had told him that was impossible.

'I told you,' the man responded after a while. 'I am not going to train you Uzumaki. I am an old man.'

Che, what a ridiculous excuse. 'Hokage Jiji is an old. Doesn't mean he can't beat anyone in this village. And I'm not asking for training from you, Danzo-san. Just some tips.' Naruto had done his research on who the man could possibly be and had only come up with one possible answer.

And from the way the man had dodged his question about adding the last chapters in the book, or the way the man quoted Tobirama as if he had trained under him, had confirmed his suspicion. It was then merely the matter of finding out the names of the Second Hokage's genin teams and eliminate them by those he knew of and those he didn't.

He couldn't read the look in the man's eye but it seemed vaguely of… approval?

'You're wasting your time here, Uzumaki,' the man got up and turned to leave.

But Naruto had other plans, 'Do you have another book for me?'

The man half turned his head, and without speaking threw a black coloured journal to him. 'Go to the Hokage tower if you want a sensei.'

Wait… what?!

'What the hell does that mean?' he asked, looking up from the journal only to see the man disappear once again, just like last time. However, this time Naruto distinctly sensed the gathering and burst of his chakra.

'I have got to learn this jutsu,' Naruto mumbled to himself and noted that in the two hours he had been sitting here, his muscle soreness had decreased by a lot. He could even move properly now.

For the most part. 'Fuck!' he cursed, barely catching himself in time before he fell. He had definitely pulled something in his left leg.

And with, Naruto trudged back to his apartment to put his weights back. Guy had lent him Lee's entire set off body weights with the sole condition that he not tell anyone. And Naruto had readily agreed.

If he didn't want his team knowing it, it was expected that Lee would want to hide it from his rivals as well. As to who they were, Naruto had no clue. The moment he had taken off his weights was like heaven. Naruto felt like he was walking on air and laughed at the top of his lungs.

Any passers who would have heard the cackling would have undoubtedly labelled him as finally losing his mind. Naruto felt great, until the moment he took an unweighted step and promptly fell over his face.

'Ughh,' Naruto grunted as he got up. 'What the hell!'

He was left so out of balance not having nearly a hundred kg on his tiny body that he had completely lost his balance. But there was no time to dawdle, getting used to the free feeling for the few hours that he would be with his team.

'Okay, you can do this Uzumaki!' he said to himself, crouching down in the racer position and readying himself. And with a burst of chakra from his feet, Naruto was off like a bullet. Or at least, a wonky and curvy bullet that found it hard to go straight.

Granted, Naruto had fallen and nearly crashed many times, but he had managed to get himself to the bridge, in one piece, where Sasuke and Sakura were standing.

And just like he had predicted, Sakura's shrill yell emerged from her throat the moment he showed up in front of them, not even needing his eyes to see where they were. He had sensed their position from two blocks away.

Why was he able to sense chakra signatures now? He didn't know, but it was cool nonetheless. Maybe he could train this ability somehow. 'I need to ask the old man about it next time.'

But for some reason, Naruto got the feeling that telling Kakashi-sensei or even the Hokage about his meeting with Danzo was a bad idea. Why he thinks that, Naruto has no idea. But it seemed like the logical thing to do.

'NARUTO! You're late!' Sakura whirled towards him, and intent of punching his head like she was used to. She decided against it when she saw his state, 'Eww, baka! Why are you so sweaty? Get away from me!' she yelled disgust clearly written on her face.

While Naruto felt hurt, he refused to show it. 'You're the one who came close to me, Sakura-chan!' he teased, stepping even closer to her.

'Eeeewww,' Sakura squirmed away, not wanting his sweat anywhere on her dress, her eye twitching, she lashed out with one right hook to the boy's head, fuming!

'Ow ow ow, Sakura-chan!' Naruto rubbed the bump on his head. He could have dodged it but decided to see if they had noticed anything.

Whilst Sasuke had raised an eyebrow when he had shown up, the teme soon turned his head away, safe in the knowledge that Naruto was still an idiot.

'What's your problem, teme?' Naruto asked, narrowing his eyes at the arrogant Uchiha, all the while stepping closer to Sakura making her wrinkle her nose and step away.

'Your sweating like a pig, Naruto-baka!' she yelled, intent of pushing him away with her hands.

Sasuke turned and glared at his idiotic teammate, 'You got winded just by running all the way here. Can you be anymore pathetic?'

Naruto closed his fist in front of his face, 'Oh yeh, smartass. You won't be saying that when I whoop your ass without even trying.'

Before Sasuke could answer, Sakura' punch bounced off of Naruto's head. 'Ow. Sakura-chan!'

'I said get away from me you sweaty fool!' Sakura wiped her hands off of her green biker shorts.

'Hn… You haven't managed that even once,' Sasuke smirked, content with the knowledge that the dobe could never challenge him if he couldn't even stop Sakura's punches. Granted, they seemed like they hurt, given the lump forming over the dobe's head but still.

'I'll show you, you jackass,' Naruto spat heatedly, pointing his finger at the arrogant jerk but inwardly he was smirking. It seems that neither had realised anything else. He was worried for a second that they would notice the change in his speed. Or maybe the teme had and was pretending not to. Naruto knew now after Zabuza and especially Danzo, not to be cocky.

'Hey! Don't call Sasuke-kun that!' Sakura yelled at him, grinding her teeth.

Now it remained to be seen if it would work with Kakashi. On that note, he didn't have much hope. If Danzo had realised it, then Kakashi surely would.

But it wasn't like he was doing anything illegal.

'Hey, how about some warming up sparring,' he said grinning at his teammates. If he didn't make an effort, it would look quite suspicious and he didn't want to make Kakashi more suspicious of him. There was no need to give him a reason to snoop on him if there wasn't one.

'Dream on, dobe,' Sasuke replied and promptly ignored Sakura's agreement with him as he walked to sit under a tree in the shade.

Sakura was momentarily surprised that Naruto had turned to look at her and not at Sasuke. 'Baka! Why would I want to spar with you,' she sneered all the while inner Sakura was fuming, _'Cha! What is that dobe think he is doing? Trying to be cool like Sasuke-kun so he can impress us! How pathetic!'_

Naruto shook his head is resignation, 'Why do I even try?', he mumbled to himself before something else caught his eye. The Truthfully, he had already mastered the tree walking exercise when he had gotten the scrolls – which he now suspected were from Danzo – and had taken to climbing trees with his weights on. But doing the same thing every day, after his endurance and stamina training had left him a bit bored really.

Sighing dejectedly, Naruto sat down on the bench and took his newest, this time aware of the looks Sakura was giving him when she spotted him.

Sure, he didn't want to give away too much of his training to his teammates, but he couldn't realistically hide everything.

If he was spying on the teme and trying to figure out his fancy moves, he had to be ready for the fact that at some point the moody bastard might get nosy and try to do the same to him. Or if not him, then Kakashi would get curious at some point.

To his credit though, he had left the book Danzo had given him at his house, hidden in one of the many places Naruto uses to stash things of importance.

The bandaged creep clearly wanted something from Naruto. While he didn't know what it was yet, he was willing to indulge the old man if it meant that he could help him. After all, Naruto needed all the help he could get.

This however, was a book on trapmaking that Naruto had stolen from the library. Unlike the civilian in the shops, he couldn't fool the chunin who worked in the library with a henge. And if she caught him doing so even once, his late-night trips into the library would be at an end.

Sasuke was now very aware that something was going on. Something…. Wrong. Purely by the fact that the dobe was reading! Whoever heard of such a thing?!

Truthfully, he had been a little surprised, not to mention annoyed, at the amount of times the dobe challenged him to a spar. Given that the blonde idiot lost every time did nothing to deter him, annoyed Sasuke even more.

He couldn't waste time on sparring with such a dead last. At the very least Kakashi could do, other than train him to kill his brother of course, was give him a decent sparring partner. When the Jounin bothered to show up not so late as he usually was.

Sasuke already had too much on his plate and couldn't be bothered to be slowed down if he had to carry the blonde in his training as well. Which was why he had mentioned it to Kakashi, knowing that the one-eyed cyclops would put an end to Naruto's challenges.

Not for Sasuke's reasons of course, but because in his opinion it was affecting their teamwork. Which suited Sasuke just fine.

Why couldn't he just train with Sakura. Those two went well together. Well, that might not be such a good idea since he didn't even seem to be able to take one punch from her. But their strength levels were similar. In fact, the only thing that Naruto actually exceeded Sakura in, was the absolutely insane amount of stamina he had.

Other than that, his basics were horrendous while Sakura's were decent. His taijutsu was horrible and he only knew one ninjutsu, and couldn't seem to get even the basic jutsus like henge or clone right. Not to mention substitution.

Sakura however, was strong in the basics and even knew more than a couple of genjutsus. If only she would train instead of fawning over him, she'd be stronger than the dobe. Sasuke was sure of it.

And that in turn would help the team more than the fool's antics. It seems Kakashi had realised this as well, and had begun setting Sakura tasks to improve her overall strength.

And yet, for all those faults, the dobe didn't seem to realise how much of a dead-last he really was. And that annoyed Sasuke more than he could put into words. And now, for the past week, Sasuke had been getting the distinct sense that something was… changing.

And what bothered him more was that he couldn't put his finger on it. The dobe was the same. The same orange, wearing idiot who couldn't even climb trees successfully, even after all the training they had done in Wave.

Kakashi had told him that Naruto was still tree walking for chakra control. What a joke! Sasuke burnt with anger every time he thought about how Haku had beat him around, how he wasn't fast enough to catch the ice freak.

'_But how the in the hell had Naruto beaten him? That shouldn't be possible? It must have been a fluke or Haku must have blundered so badly that even the dobe could have gotten the upper hand.' _

Sasuke was sure that without some assistance, the idiot could never have beaten Haku. All Naruto had done was kept throwing his clones for them to get slaughtered. That seemed to be his go to solution to every problem. What an idiot!

Yet, where did he even get that book from? The library? Or did he ask Iruka? And why was he reading anyway? The dobe had always seemed like the act-first-think-later ninja, if he could even be called that.

Now, it was all but confirmed that something was changing as both him and Sakura watched with gaping mouths – although he had quickly gathered himself – as the dobe settled on the bench and took out a book of all things.

Was this an imposter, was Sasuke's first thought? In the academy which was barely two months ago, Iruka had barely managed to make Naruto open a book for four years.

And now, the dobe was voluntarily doing it? Something was going on and Sasuke didn't like not knowing what.

Che! Whatever. It's not like he could be a better ninja by reading books. With that final thought, Sasuke averted his head and got back to dreaming about how he was going to make his traitorous brother pay for his crime. How he was going to gut him, then incinerate his guts while he watched then feed them to him. Then kill him slowly, painfully and mercilessly.

Ah yes, those thoughts did him good. Especially since he had now finally awakened his Sharingan.

'_Chanaro!'_ Inner Sakura fumed, looking at the dobe. _'As if it wasn't enough that the dobe tried to copy Sasuke-kun to try to impress us and now he's trying it by a book. Well, we won't even bother with him. That'll teach him a lesson.'_

Outer Sakura immediately nodded her head and agreed with her inner version, turning to Sasuke-kun to rant about Naruto's stupidity.

Naruto, instead of paying attention to his teammates was much concerned with the fact that he sensed Kakashi's presence but the man hadn't shown up anywhere near them, visually. Was this a genjutsu like the old man had used in their first meeting?

He didn't look up towards where he sensed Kakashi, wondering how long the man was going to do this. Instead, he continued reading his book. It was quite fascinating honestly. Naruto was pleasantly surprised to see that he had been using some of the techniques in his own pranks. Naruto grinned in excitement. Sneaking into the Chunin section of the library was a great move on his part.

* * *

**AN: I get your point about the quotation marks, but mate, I'm English. I've always been taught to use single quotation marks for initial quotes, and then double quotation marks for quotes within quotes. So that's what I'm sticking with. Also, my computer has the ' as default and whenever i need " I need to press Shift and 2. And i can't be arsed to do it every time. **


	9. Chapter 9

Team Eight look at Kurenai dumbfoundedly, disbelief colouring their faces as they processed what she had said. Well, disbelief was clear on Kiba and Hinata's face. Shino just pushed his glasses up. So, she supposed that counted.

Suddenly, Kiba jumped up, 'YOHOO!' punching the air. 'Finally, we'll get to see who's stronger!'

Kurenai shook her head, slightly amused. The boy had a one-track mind. She had already predicted that this is what will appeal to the boy in their session today. It was Hinata's response that concerned her.

The timid Hyuga girl pushed her fingers together in the manner she was so used to, 'Ano… Is it… Are we supposed to…?'

Kurenai nodded, understanding her hesitantly asked question regardless of the broken phrases, 'Yes.'

'It is logical,' Shino commented, looking at Hinata. 'Why you ask, Hinata-san. It is because we are a specialised reconnaissance team. It is expected for us to train for such missions.'

Still, Hinata wasn't certain, wiggling her fingers she said, 'Y…Yes but on Team 7…'

Kurenai sighed. She knew Hinata would have a problem with spying on Kakashi's team. She had known it even before she had been officially given her team. When she had observed her potential genin in the academy, she had quickly realised that Hinata had a soft spot for the trouble maker.

Never did she think it would hinder her performance. In fact, she might even go as far as to say that it motivated Hinata. She had never seen Hinata train harder than when she did at Tazuna's house in Wave. If only, it stayed at motivation and not turn into a liability.

She would have to manage this carefully. Forming attachments for shinobi was always a dangerous thing, especially for those who were on duty. That was one of the reasons why it was discouraged to be on the same team with one's boyfriend or girlfriend. And why most ninja didn't think about settling down until they had retired.

'Hinata,' she addressed the girl. 'I understand it may seem like a wrong thing to do but we have to train for espionage missions. And Team 7 is one of the few teams that are a possible target for it. We'll swap targets every week.'

Hinata pursed her lips but agreed nonetheless. Not that she had a choice anyway. A mission was a mission, regardless of what a ninja thought about it personally. Their feelings on the mission's objective mattered very little, and more often than not were a hindrance to the completion of the mission.

'Good,' Kurenai smiled at the girl's acquiescence. 'Now, Kiba where are they?'

Kiba and Akamaru both gave a few experimental sniffs and barely a minute later, he scrunched up his face. 'Ughh. The dobe's scent is so strong. What the hell has he been doing!'

Akamaru have an agreeing bark and Kiba pointed towards their general location. He was till quite young so he couldn't pinpoint their exact location. But that was enough for his sensei it seemed.

'W…what happened, Kiba-kun?' Hinata asked, concern clear in her eyes. Was Naruto-kun hurt? Was he bleeding? No. That couldn't be, she calmed herself. They hadn't even started training yet. How could he get hurt already?

But Kiba's response relaxed her a little. 'He's sweating like a pig!'

'Oh, okay,' Hinata nodded, satisfied by the answer. She, however missed the look of concern on her sensei's face.

'Now, I have a meeting with the Hokage. Your mission is to be observe team 7's training from an appropriate distance,' Kurenai then went over the basics of what a reconnaissance team should know. However, it was all revision since they were already aware of it.

'It goes without saying that you shouldn't be caught or found out. At the end of their training, you will 'exfil' from enemy territory and share your intel with me,' Kurenai finished, asking whether they had any questions.

'Ano, sensei. W…what happens if we are… caught,' Hinata fiddled with the jacket as she asked, still not comfortable with the mission parameters but determined not to let her team down. This was just training. They weren't doing anything illegal.

'Good question,' Kurenai smiled reassuringly at the girl. 'You will treat it as any mission in enemy territory. You have already gone over the formations and know the protocol. Follow it and you should be fine. After all, they are just genin like you.'

Kurenai then departed after making sure that the team had understood their objective. They had three hours to finish their mission. Surely, that must be enough time for even Kakashi to arrive at the Hokage's office, even as perpetually late as he was.

Hopefully, everything will go well, the black-haired beauty told herself as she vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving the three genin to figure out a plan.

Ten minutes later, they were as ready as they were ever going to be and had formed three plans in case they were found out.

'Let's go,' Shino ordered, being the captain appointed for this mission by Kurenai.

'Hai,' the other two obeyed and followed the Aburame, his bugs letting him know the way as they went deeper into the woods surrounding training ground seven.

It didn't take long for them to find team 7 and each member of team eight hid as effectively as they could, crouching within and under bushes. Tension was thick in the air, as the need to pass their first solo mission was mounting.

None of the genin wanted to disappoint their sensei, who had put two months into their training, despite at first having some hesitation about each genin's overspecialisation. They had agreed unanimously that they would not fail Kurenai-sensei.

'Kiba, do you think this is far enough?' Shino asked quietly, hoping the brash teammate would recognise the need for subtlety. Although Shino's bugs told him so, he knew that Inuzukas' noses were highly important in recognising potential dangers.

Thankfully, he wasn't as stupid as to shout it out. 'Yes, I don't think they can hear us. Hinata?' he turned to the timid girl who was hiding under a bush.

Hinata was quiet for a few seconds before she responded, 'No. None of them can hear us.' While her ability to read lips was nowhere near as perfect as her father's or even her cousin's – as her training had been halted some years ago – she was still a Hyuga. She was fairly certain that none of them had realised that they were there.

And with that, team eight resolved to make any and all observations about team 7 that they could.

'What the hell?' Kiba asked, confusion dripping every word.

Honestly, both Hinata and Shino were equally confused. What were they meant to do with three dozen eggs?

It got even weirder Naruto quite literally chucked it Sasuke's face, and did not look at all sorry for doing it. In fact, the blonde looked quite pleased as the egg cracked on the unsuspecting Uchiha's face.

Shino raised an eyebrow at the move the blonde had pulled. Maybe he just got lucky. There was no other reason to think that Naruto could have seen through the blindfold or even known where Uchiha was.

Perhaps he had some sensory ability, he mused. But no. That hypothesis was proven false when right after that, he was hit with eggs from both the Sakura and Uchiha.

What was the point of the exercise, Hinata was wondering? It seemed to her that it was just a waste of time meant to ruin the genin's clothes and make them smell like rotten eggs.

Speaking of Kiba, the boy and Akamaru were literally on the verge of puking in the village's woods. It was by sheer will, that both seemed to be stopping themselves. For retching quite loudly in the bushes would most surely give them away.

Did the eggs really smell that bad? Maybe that was an incentive in a twisted, sort of way to do the exercise properly. Perhaps it was some sort of teamwork test. They hadn't arrived when Kakashi-sensei had apparently explained the logic of the exercise. Hinata carefully wrote her suspicions in a small diary. Coded.

Spies always needed to write intel in codes. Team Eight hadn't developed their own secret code very formally yet, but it was on its way. It was based on a system of numbers, and hand signs. Hinata personally thought it was quite clever.

Trust Shino to come up with such a clever idea. Admittedly, it was her idea to include the hand-signs. Although Kurenai sensei had said that it wasn't fool-proof, it was better than her own genin team had come with. That in itself was high praise, in Hinata's book.

She shifted her attention back to observing the three genin of Team 7 ruin each other's clothes by rotten eggs. So far, she hadn't noticed anything useful. Perhaps, Shino and Kiba had. Well, Shino properly. Kiba couldn't even keep his nose from scrunching up in an effort to keep the horrible smell out.

And hour later, it seemed that Kakashi-sensei had decided that enough was enough. And her suspicions turned out to be right. A warm feeling developed in her chest. She wasn't a total failure.

Even though she might not be a very good fighter, she had a good mind for analysing and examining things. Even her father had commented on it once or twice. And Hiashi Hyuga was notoriously hard to please.

'What are they doing?' Shino asked barely a minute before Hinata let out an involuntary 'eep!'

Kiba immediately pushed his palm against her mouth in an effort to keep her involuntary noises down.

'Hinata! What are you… Oi, Hinata!' he hissed, trying to shake the incredibly red girl awake. She had fainted! What the hell?! Kiba looked up towards Shino for help but the boy had already turned back to their target.

And soon enough, it became clear why Hinata had coloured crimson and fainted so suddenly. Naruto had suddenly stripped to his boxers as did the other two genin.

Kiba was not going to deny that he was jealous! He knew he had no reason to be jealous of the dead-last, dobe! But he was. And it frustrated him to no end. The idiot acted so high and mighty; acting as if he was already the Hokage and the hat was only waiting for him to put it on.

It drove him crazy. And that was not mentioning the fact that their teammate seemed to have a soft spot for the blonde idiot. He might have been a little dense in the academy, but he wasn't as dense as the blonde dobe who was now roaring with laughter and had jumped straight into the stream to avoid the wrath of the Uchiha.

It wasn't hard to figure out Hinata's feelings for Naruto. Even if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he could smell it. Pheromones! And that pissed him off more than anything! Her mother and sister had sat him down for the Talk last year and he had to say, it was potentially the most embarrassing, worst hour of his life.

Period. There was no argument about it. For an Inuzuka, puberty was different. For the most part, it was more intensified than normal humans because of their shared dog-like traits. Their smell of pheromones and their reaction to it increases by a lot and so did the affect of it on their moods.

And right now, Kiba was feeling angry and a not a little jealous at the idiot who was enjoying himself in the stream. What was it about him that she liked? Kiba just couldn't get it. He was an idiot, not at all smart, had literally the worst grades in their class, was a terrible ninja and wore orange.

Really. There was nothing to like about him. And yet, for some reason the girl who had now just woken up, liked him. It was a mystery to Kiba.

'Gomen….,' Hinata mumbled to her teammates, still quite red from watching Naruto dressed only in boxers. He was practically naked now.

'That is fine. And expected,' Shino said in that same tone he always used. 'Why you ask. For a main branch Hyuga, it would be expected to not be confronted and comfortable with almost nudity.'

Hinata blushed more than last time at his blunt way of putting it. Even Kiba thought it was quite blunt, as the Inuzuka punched Shino's shoulder lightly. But essentially, he was right. That was the first time she was seeing Naruto-kun without shirts and trousers that baggy jumpsuit.

As cute, blonde, whiskered ninja got out of the stream Hinata noticed how thin he actually was. She could even see his ribs. And she had a distinct sense that she would be able to see it without her Byakugan as well.

Quietly, each of them shared their observations with the team. In her own diary, Hinata noted with great sadness that it was obvious Naruto-kun didn't have a proper diet. Granted, she had heard and always saw him eating ramen but didn't he realise this was bad? Couldn't he see his own body in the mirror?

Why then didn't he eat something else. Even meat, if he didn't want to eat vegetables. As Hinata made a note of it, she decided she what she could do to help him. Maybe he didn't know how to cook.

He lived all alone, so that could a reason for why he always seemed to have ramen. Maybe she could offer to teach him how to cook. Involuntarily, she let out another 'eep' at the thought of the intimate setting.

Her and Naruto standing side by side in his kitchen, her shoulder rubbing against his. Him chopping vegetables and her making a stew. Him quite cutely putting a bit of sauce on her nose and her blushing. And before she knew it, she had passed out yet again.

And when she came to next, it seemed that Sasuke-san and Kakashi-sensei were sparring, Sakura-san was practising her stamina and endurance it seemed and Naruto was practising throwing shuriken?

Hinata berated herself for letting herself be distracted by such a thought. Thankfully, hidden as she was under a lot of bushes, her teammates seemed to not have noticed her second visit in the land of oblivion.

'What a moron,' Kiba commented from behind her. Akamaru gave an agreeing quiet bark. 'He still can't throw properly. How the hell did he ever graduate?'

Hinata frowned, 'Kiba-kun. That's rude,' she reprimanded him lightly but he was right nonetheless. Why was Naruto-kun still having problems with the basics?

'Indeed. It is quite surprising,' Shino agreed with Kiba. 'There must be some reason for it. It is not logical.'

Hinata could only nod in agreement. She remembered Naruto passing the throwing test quite clearly. It was the written portion and the clone jutsu that had always troubled him.

'I told you the dobe was an idiot,' Kiba smiled. 'I was right.'

'Naruto-san seems to have found an alternate to the clone jutsu,' Shino remarked, looking at the clone which Naruto was using as a target practice. 'And they seem to be tangible. Interesting technique. And one not meant for genin. It is… suspicious.'

Hinata turned her head to the side. 'What do you mean, Shino-kun?' Indeed, she remembered her father saying the something similar to a main family Hyuga during dinner after the graduation ceremony.

However, it was Kiba who answered, 'Yes. He made the same on the bridge. His clones have the same smell. That's weird.' The boy glared where Naruto's clone seemingly relayed their point of view of what original went wrong. And they tended to insult each other as well.

She could see that as Naruto-kun made his clones, he divided his chakra somewhat equally in them. But that couldn't possibly be true. If it were, he couldn't have made more than four at most. There must be something she was missing. Hinata wrote that in her diary. It was odd, to say the least.

'I can only presume it is a chunin level technique or higher that Naruto-san got by dishonest methods,' Shino informed them, much to their shock.

It seems that neither of their clan had seen fit to tell them of how Naruto-san had stolen the Scroll of Sealing and opened it. Maybe that was where he learnt it.

'Maybe that's why the adults are not fond of him,' Shino offered, still trying to solve the mystery that was turning out to be Naruto Uzumaki.

'I know. My clan doesn't like him either. They won't say why though,' Kiba added. They just told him to stay away from him.

'Perhaps…Naruto-kun's pranks,' Hinata offered to her teammates. While the Hyuga had never been antagonistic towards him, she distinctly remembered Ko-san telling her to stay away from him. Actually, he had used a much meaner word, which was decidedly untrue.

'No. They seemed to have that suspicion of Naruto-san before he started his practical jokes. I can only surmise it is for something beyond his control,' Shino replied, and immediately a few theories came to mind. None of them which were good. And none of them painted his clan in a good picture. That thought was highly disturbing, to say the least.

Hinata shook her head, 'That's just silly… Since he'll be Hokage someday.'

She was glad that even though Shino didn't seem to agree with her, at least he didn't argue against it.

There was only one person Shino could talk to about this, without raising suspicion. But he was also the laziest person he has ever met. Who knows if he would want to help or not? On the other hand, maybe it was not logical for him to involve himself in a situation that clearly was not his concern.

'Man! Sasuke's taijutsu is fancy,' Kiba almost whistled if Shino hadn't put a hand on his mouth to stop him. 'Nothing compared to Inuzuka style though,' the boy still managed to mumble through his covered mouth.

Hinata had to agree. Sasuke-san seemed highly proficient at taijutsu. Much like Kiba-kun. She idly wondered if he was as good as or better than her cousin. Definitely better than her. But then again, who wasn't. NO!

She shook her head. There was no use thinking on it now. She had a mission to focus on. Perhaps, she could focus on Sasuke-san's moves. Hinata focused her Byakugan on how the raven haired moved his legs and executed his kicks. It seemed he was focusing more on his lower body.

As a Hyuga she was aware of the ongoing debate if their style or the Uchiha style was superior, for years. As far as she knew, it had started after Konoha was founded by the Senju and Uchiha clans.

The Hyuga had joined later, right before the First Shinobi War. However, they hadn't taken part in the first war since their numbers were still quite low.

Observing Sasuke-san seemed like the best option. Not that she had against anything Naruto-kun of course, but there was no risk of fainting when she observed the Uchiha. She could see there was a lot of power behind each and everyone of his moves. Very much in contrast to the Hyuga.

But then again, when would she ever get to use this intel. Most likely, they would need to throw it away. Its not like she would ever be in any competition against the rookie of the year.

'Look at that! The dobe is trying to walk on water,' Kiba almost laughed out loud before he remembered they were supposed to be spying. 'He really is a shitty ninja!'

'Kiba-kun!' Hinata reprimanded him, very uncharacteristically, giving him a stern look that silenced the boy instantly. She hated when others put down Naruto-kun for his lack of skills. He tries harder than anyone she had ever seen. He didn't deserve such jokes on his expense.

'I would say that Naruto-san has the potential to be a good ninja,' Shino added after a while, surprising both Hinata and the dog-ninja.

'What the hell do you mean?' Kiba seemed almost offended. 'The dobe can't even walk on water. Or throw a kunai properly.'

'You didn't let me finish,' Shino said, silencing Kiba. 'Naruto-san has the potential if he would only apply himself properly.'

'H…He does,' this time it was Hinata who replied. 'M…More than…'

'Naruto-san has failed the academy exam three times already. And he has slept through most of the classes and skipped the rest. It is logical that he is as untrained as he is.'

Hinata tried to argue to that, but she had no response. It was true. Naruto-kun had wasted most of his time in the academy. But then, so had Shikamaru-san. She didn't want to point it out, but she didn't think academic ability necessarily relates to ninja ability.

'Che. As if,' Kiba scoffed, unconvinced. 'Nobody who kills an unarmed prisoner can be a good ninja,' he said heatedly.

Hinata frowned, pursing her lips. 'M... Maybe he had a g…good reason. M…Maybe Zabuza-san was a threat.' She didn't like arguing with her teammates. But she also didn't like when people put down Naruto-kun for no reason.

'He was not. Even Kakashi-sensei had scolded Naruto on his actions,' Kiba fixed his eyes on the boy who now floating in the stream.

'It was technically not a crime,' was all Shino said, before they all turned back to the sensation of Naruto-kun trying to stabilise his chakra yet again.

Hinata focused her Byakugan on Naruto, 'He's… going about it wrong.'

Wisely, this time Kiba kept any sarcastic comments to himself, knowing that Hinata would not take it well. She had to grow out of her crush sometime soon, right?

Hinata saw that he was trying to centre his chakra instead of pushing it towards his feet. Even Naruto-kun would know something like that.

Neither Shino nor Kiba got the sense that anything was off but Hinata got the distinct sense that something was wrong. And it made her more anxious that she didn't know what.

'S…Shino… can you send out your bugs,' she asked, not taking eyes off of the blonde who had just exclaimed something and was running off towards his teammates.

'Yes, I already have,' Shino replied, looking alarmedly from a sprinting Naruto to his teammates. 'Kiba. Have they sensed us?' They needed to be ready to pull out if they had been made.

Kiba channelled chakra to his ears and listened for a few minutes just as Hinata focused on their lips moving, all three ready to move at a moment's notice.

'No,' Kiba snickered after a while. 'The dobe is bored and he's tryna get the Uchiha and Sakura to spar with him.'

Hinata instantly felt a pang of hurt for Naruto-kun. The situation was all too familiar for her. Granted, she was never this enthusiastic about sparring with the other Hyugas but she requested nonetheless.

They main family denied her and branch family did it out of duty. And even then, they never tried their best to go all out. For fear of injuring her.

Sometimes she just felt yelling at them, the way Naruto-kun was doing now. How was she supposed to improve if nobody would train with her?

But her shy and timid nature got the better of her every time. She couldn't bear it, if because of her own clumsiness and weakness, she got injured and a branch Hyuga got his seal activated. The guilt would eat her alive. So, Hinata stayed quiet.

She could understand Naruto-kun's frustration very well. Better than her own teammates or his own, it seems. Again, Hinata cursed her fear of being rejected by the one she looked up to the most, causing her to not approach him.

Maybe someday… maybe someday she could be like Sakura-san, who was never afraid of approaching Sasuke-san.

A sharp intake of breath from Shino drew her attention to him, 'What is it, Shino-kun?'

'My bugs are dead,' was Shino's only reply and not a second later, they all saw Sasuke who launch a large fireball at his own teammate. Fear gripped her in that moment. Hinata's heart got caught in her throat. NO! Naruto-kun!

Hinata almost forgot about the mission. She didn't care whether they were supposed to be hidden. Until Naruto had jumped out of the way, yelling at Sasuke-san for almost killing him.

'Did that…,' Hinata asked, knowing Shino-kun was very sensitive about his bugs.

Kiba cursed under his breath while Shino replied, 'It seems Naruto-san stepped one some, while Sakura-san stepped on others. The rest were killed by the fireball.'

Hinata instantly felt sorry for her teammate. 'I'm s…sorry Shino-kun.'

Shino however, shook his head, 'It was logical that they would die at some point. But I would have preferred it to not be in such a way.'

However, she wasn't the only one thinking it was too convenient. Kiba though voiced her concern, 'Do you think we've been found out?'

While Hinata had been reading Naruto-kun's lips, she hadn't seen Sakura-san's or Sasuke-san's. Shino shook his head, 'Just before dying, my partners told me that Naruto-san was taunting Sasuke-san about his small fireballs.'

'So, we're still okay,' Kiba nodded, and Hinata felt relieved. She didn't know how she would explain to Naruto-kun if they had been found out. She knew it was probably cowardly but she couldn't bear to have him think bad of her, like almost everyone does.

Although, he was probably still mad at her about what she had said in Wave. Hinata needed to make up for that. She inwardly smiled to herself, knowing the perfect way to apologise. Even now, she could see that he needed it.

'It is not logical. They do not have a sensor,' Shino said, but his tone belied his confusion. Which was new because rarely, if ever, did anything stump Shino to the point of making him confused. At least, visibly so.

Hinata nodded, 'Only us three and potentially Ino-san have sensory abilities in our class.'

'Naruto has the luck of the devil!' Kiba growled grumpily. 'Are you going to send more out?' he asked, looking at the bug user.

Shino refused to sacrifice more of his partners on a couple of genin who were just brawling at this point. There was nothing to learn about their technique or intel to gather. There was nothing sophisticated about their fight. Even Sasuke-san had devolved into fighting like a barman, which was more than a little disappointing.

Kiba however, was quite glad of the events, and was smiling from ear to ear. 'I can't wait to tell Kaa-chan that the Uchiha prick's taijutsu has nothing on us.'

'A…ano,' Hinata looked from the brawling genin to Shino, 'I…think they know,' she said, her heart furiously beating, not wanting it to be true.

'No way,' Kiba protested. He hadn't smelled anything that would mean they were suspicious. 'That's not possible. Me and Akamaru would have known.'

But she knew it was. It was too coincidental to not be true. Or can it? Curse her stupid, weak Byakugan. If only she had been good enough to continue training with her father like Hanabi-chan now, they wouldn't be in this mess.

'How so?' asked Shino, now even more alarmed that not only Hinata and Kiba, but his bugs could have been fooled as well. The idea did not sit well with him.

He knew Naruto-san was an orphan but did the Uchiha clan have some technique to fool the Aburame's bugs? From what he knew of the famed, now nearly extinct clan, it was as possible as it was disturbing.

'I…I don't know,' came the Hyuga's reply and left team eight uncertain of the success of their first espionage mission. What would they tell Kurenai-sensei now?

'_Just another one in my list failures,' _Hinata thought morosely. But at least her father will not know about it.


	10. Chapter 10

Already Naruto's twisted mind was churning, coming with several possibilities where he could apply his pranking skills to trap-making. It was detecting traps which was the problem for him. After all, it was one of the reasons why Iruka-sensei had been able to catch him after he had pranked someone or other.

Or the time when he had painted the Hokage monument in broad daylight. Now that had been a good prank. Naruto snickered to himself, looking to all the world, a lunatic. It had taken him a half a day to plan and do it, but he had successfully pulled it off. Well, that is until Iruka-sensei made him clean it all up.

But first things first. He needed to make a list of skills common to his pranks and to trap-making and trap-detection.

Before he could list them in his head, Kakashi had shown up some feet away and lazily walked towards them, his book held in front of his face.

'Yo,' the Jounin gave a lazy wave to his three genin.

Sakura immediately yelled, 'KAKASHI SENSEI, YOU'RE LATE!' clutching her fist in front of her face. Only then did she realise that Naruto hadn't yelled alongside her. She wasn't the only one surprised by this.

Kakashi watched as the orange wearing genin put the book in his kunai pouch, much like he does his. He was a little intrigued at the what blonde could have been possibly reading. It seemed like he was really interested in it.

But Iruka had informed the Jounins when the team were being assigned, how Naruto notoriously hated reading. Was that the result of their talk yesterday? If so, finally Kakashi was doing something right with him.

'Yo,' Naruto replied just as lazily, and while he was mad at the Jounin-sensei, he was not beyond being civil to the man. Even if for the formality of it.

'So, what are we going to do today, Kakashi-sensei?' Sakura asked after a moment's silence, and looking towards the baka. But given that Naruto wasn't inclined to do so, she had to take over. More so, she was tired of waiting for their sensei and doing nothing.

She reminded herself to talk to Kakashi-sensei about Naruto being late as well. He really wasn't setting a good example. One of them being perpetually late was enough. Their team didn't need two of them.

Kakashi knew something was going on. He had felt it the moment he had walked in on the training ground. There was a lingering tension there and he immediately thought that his genin had had some sort of an argument. Probably because of Naruto.

It couldn't have been a fight otherwise both Sasuke and Naruto would be bruised, the latter more than the former of course. Although, Naruto did look he had been sweating quite profusely. His jumpsuit and trouser looked slightly darker.

For now, he put that observation out of his head, and replied, 'Today, we are going to be doing a team exercise,' giving them all his eye-smile.

Naruto resisted the urge to groan. Of course, they were. What else could he expect. 'Which one?' he asked dumbfoundedly.

Surprisingly, it was the teme who spoke up, 'We must have done them all by now.' The look on his face showed all, Naruto thought amusedly. Normally, his face had the same broody look but this time the twitching eye and half clenched jaw showed Naruto how annoyed the teme was.

'Not this one, my young genin,' Kakashi replied cheerfully, putting his book away.

Naruto didn't like sound of that cheer. It was much too cheery. And it hinted towards something that he was certain he wasn't going to like.

This time he did groan as he saw what Kakashi had unsealed from a scroll. He had a really bad feeling about this.

He could see that Sasuke felt the same. The twitching in his eye had increased, albeit slightly, as he looked at the crates of three dozen eggs, some white and some brown.

'Huh?' Sakura was stumped, for once, looking from her sensei to her teammates who had clearly figured it out. The baka figuring anything out before her was a real low point and served to make her even more annoyed at both her sensei and the dobe. Could this day get any weirder?

'You have got to be kidding me!' Naruto glared at the cyclops. 'You can't be serious?!'

Kakashi looked a little impressed at the fact that Naruto had realised what they were going to be doing. Naruto would have been a little offended if he wasn't so annoyed.

'What is it baka!' Sakura looked from him to Kakashi-sensei. 'What are we going to do with them.'

Naruto bit his teeth, intently watching the teme's face. 'We're going to pass eggs to each other.'

Kakashi was the one to finish the sentence, 'Blindfolded.'

If he wasn't so pissed at the immense waste of time, he would have burst out laughing at the highly offended look on the teme's face as Sakura sputtered uselessly.

As usual, Kakashi had ignored their protests and soon all three genin were standing facing each other in a circle, not too big and not too small.

'Now, your job is to figure out where the other person is and throw these eggs to them to catch, by the sound of their voice alone,' Kakashi instructed them.

Naruto knew he was going to have so much fun in this exercise as soon as Kakashi had said the word, 'Blindfolded.'

'Naruto, you will start.' Kakashi handed over an egg to the blindfolded boy.

'Glady,' was the reply he got, much to his Sasuke's displeasure. Naruto seemed too cheerful.

'Teme, where are you?' Naruto asked, although he knew exactly where he was.

'I'm here, dobe,' Sasuke's voice came exactly from where Naruto expected it to.

'Here, catch!'

And then it became clear to them why Naruto sounded so happy. The sound of cracking egg and a loud yell emanated from Sasuke, 'Arrghhh! Disgusting! Dobe! Why did you throw it so hard?'

Naruto tried his best not to snicker, 'How the hell am I supposed to know you were standing so close.'

And just when Sasuke was about chuck his egg at him, Kakashi's voice came through, 'Now, now, Sasuke. You need to throw it to Sakura.'

'Hn,' Sasuke turned his head to where he though he remembered Sakura standing, 'I'll get you next time, dobe. Where are you Sakura?'

'I'm here, Sasuke-kun,' Sakura called out, and Naruto pictured the girl was actually waving her hand and snickered. 'What's so funny, baka?'

She must have turned her head to where Naruto's voice had come from because in the next second Sasuke had asked her to catch, followed by the sound of another cracking egg.

'EEEWWWW! It's in my hair!' Sakura yelled at the top of her lungs. 'I hate you Kakashi-sensei!'

This time, Naruto did burst out laughing, unable to control holding it in. As he clutched his belly, he missed the two eggs both Sakura and Sasuke had chucked to him with a yell of 'Catch!'

'Hey, wait wait…' Naruto tried to plead but no to no avail. On instinct, he had turned right, missing the egg from Sakura but Sasuke's egg smashed right into his face.

'Ughhh! Teme I'm going to get you back!' Naruto picked up another egg.

'Hn,' Sasuke replied and Naruto pictured his smug smirk plastered on the bastard's face.

Kakashi intervened before the exercise could dissolve into egg throwing rather than catching. 'The goal of this exercise is not to smash your teammate with eggs but to pass them the eggs.'

By the end of it however, all three genin were dripping with egg whites and yolk, and smelling of rotten sulphur. It seems that Kakashi had purposefully chosen eggs which had gone off.

As Naruto took off his own blindfold, he was treated to the sight of Sasuke's hair dripping with yellow yolk and quickly dissolved into belly aching laughter… again.

'Teme, your duck butt-hair's spilled its breakfast,' Naruto taunted.

'Watch it, dobe!' Sasuke growled at the same time as Sakura's shrill voice screeched.

'Don't call Sasuke-kun that!'

But one thing common between all three genin was that they were glaring at their sensei imagining similar revenge.

Kakashi thought it best not to test them anymore lest they start thinking he was a good target and gave them all an eye-smile, 'Well now. Hopefully you've all learnt an important lesson in teamwork. It doesn't matter how good you individually are if you don't know what your teammate's situation, strengths and weaknesses are. You have to plan your attacks, formation and tactics based on that. Now, get cleaned.'

Kakashi motioned to the stream nearby. Although his attention was not on the eggs sticking to his genin, but the eggs at the feet of each of them.

He had purposefully brought white and brown eggs to differentiate between what was caught and what was thrown. Although this wasn't meant to be a contest and he wouldn't bring it to their attention to ruin any lesson they may have learnt but clearly Naruto had caught the most eggs.

A quick count told him that the brown eggs at Naruto's feet were 7 while Sasuke had four and Sakura had two. Was this just a coincidence? He had a feeling it wasn't but there was no way Naruto could have seen the eggs. The blindfolds were all black.

Naruto shrugged, mentally congratulating himself for leaving his weights back at his apartment. As he stripped to his boxers, he was shaken out of his mental congratulating for his performance in catching the eggs by Sakura's exclamation.

'Wait… how is it that you've got a four pack but Sasuke-kun doesn't,' Sakura glared at him.

'What?' Naruto looked up at Sakura who was looking at his abdomen. A blush covered his cheeks. It wasn't a bloody four-pack, it was his ribs! He quickly diverted her attention by the first thing that came to his mind.

'Wait… how do you know Sasuke doesn't have a four-pack,' he asked with a smirk on his whiskered face.

Sasuke's head snapped up and turned from a blank look to Naruto to a horrified one to Sakura, realising what it implied. Sakura squealed and quickly buried her face in her hands.

Naruto roared in laughter… yet again, 'TEME! She's been stalking you!'

Sasuke's face turned from a clearly horrified one to a more scared one. 'What?!'

'I'm…. sorry… I didn't mean to… I… Ino said…,' Sakura stuttered and quickly dove into the stream to hide her embarrassment.

'What else she must have scene!' Naruto continued hollering, laughing his ass off. This was hands down the best team training they had had.

Sasuke grew as red as a tomato, and whirled towards him, 'DOBE! THIS ISN'T FUNNY!'

That only made Naruto laugh out louder and as soon as it looked like the teme was going to lunge towards him, Naruto took off running and jumped into the stream.

But no one was more amused than the lazy sensei who lounged on a nearby branch, his precious book held in his hands. 'Well this clearly went according to plan… somewhat.'

At least his genin had stopped bickering like children and seem to be getting along… somewhat. But it was better than they were before Wave. He shuddered to think going back to that level of teamwork.

If only he could employ the same tactics, he did with his ANBU squad when he was still a squad captain, they wouldn't be having problems with teamwork. But then again, they weren't trained killers.

They all had their humanity, and if all went well, hopefully they would all keep their humanity. That was a luxury he and many of his colleagues didn't have in their time.

However, the marks on Naruto's chest, arms and legs were concerning. They were barely there and he doubted any of the genin had noticed them, since they seemed to be alleviating. But Kakashi's discerning eye hadn't missed them.

Most interesting. Now what could he be doing with weights. A quick glance towards Naruto's jacket showed him that he hadn't brought them with him. More importantly, where in the world did he get them?

Things were changing in his team and he didn't like where they were going. Naruto was hiding something and he never used to hide anything. Hell, he would brag it to the world if he thought it would get him attention and praise.

Looking at his watch, only an hour had passed in their three-hour training session. But he was fairly certain that soon after they've had a cleansing swim, Naruto would ask him for training yet again.

Kakashi mentally shook his head. The boy will never learn. It was one thing to never go back on their word, and it was another to be stupidly stubborn. Naruto was now being the second. After all, even Obito trained by himself all the time and didn't depend of Minato-sensei for training outside of their allotted time.

The boy didn't understand that he had an obligation to his late friend's last clan member. To see him survive, grow strong and thrive. He could do no less. Obito would want him to. Rin would want him to.

Sighing, he looked over to where the Memorial Stone was. Maybe he should go and visit them again. Later, maybe. For now, he turned his focus towards the genin who were getting out of the stream, and shivering. Some exercise would do them good. Yes.

Perhaps he could divide the rest of the two hours with Naruto and Sakura training alone and then sparring together. Yes, that could work.

And then he had to go and meet the Hokage. There was troubling news from the border that an ANBU had delivered to Kakashi earlier, on the Hokage's orders. He was sure it was about that.

And soon, the genin had dried themselves off and dressed in the spare clothes they had been asked to bring along. Well, Sasuke and Sakura were. Naruto hadn't brought any and so he was still in his boxers.

Naruto tried not to shiver in the cool breeze. It was the middle of ku-gatsu and the winter was already well on its way. Which was probably why the stream water was so cold. The leaves bristled as the wind picked up speed. The darkening clouds heralded oncoming rain. And Naruto cursed himself for forgetting an extra jumpsuit.

But Kakashi was already addressing them, 'Okay. Sakura, you will focus on your stamina for now while Naruto practices his basics. Sasuke, you need more training with chakra control.'

Naruto nodded, having already accepted that this insufferable Jounin would never train him until these bloody basics were mastered. But at least, he now admitted that Sasuke's chakra control needed work as well. Normally, the Uchiha was the paragon of a shinobi in his sensei's eyes.

And so, he ignored Sakura as she ran laps around the training ground or Sasuke as Kakashi taught him how stand on water. Naruto wasn't so overconfident as to think that Kakashi was completely wrong.

No. It was painful to admit, but Naruto had barely passed the genin exam's shuriken and kunai throwing test. He had managed six, while five was minimum and those who scored below it, failed.

It was another one of those things where he hadn't been sabotaged but he hadn't paid any attention to, for he had wanted to learn flashier, ninjutsu techniques. In the end, all he had done was sabotage his own training.

And so, Naruto created more than a few shadow clones, and had them set up targets, falling logs and themselves as 'enemies' for him to practice his kunai and shuriken throwing for the first hour. There must be some technique to it, surely. How did the teme manage a near perfect score of nine in the exam.

There was no sense in wasting time doing the same thing over and over again. So, he decided to test out the limits of his clones whilst he practiced his throwing. Naruto had never given it much thought. But the shadow clones jutsu was confusing to say the least.

Yes, he had already realised that he got the memories of the clones destroyed. What else was there?

The explanation in the Scroll of Sealing was a little vague. He was well aware that it was probably created by Tobirama, as it was him who he had written about it. While it did transfer memories, and was created as a surveillance tool, it did not take into account Naruto's large reserves.

Naruto created one clone and that had that clone create one more and so on and so forth. The eighth clone however said that it didn't have enough chakra to form another. So, if the first clone had half of his chakra, it meant that either the second clone had either a quarter of the total, or a third. Depending on if the chakra was distributed from the body that made it, or the original.

But it if was the latter, then that means there was still a link to it from the third clone to his original body. Which was concerning to say the least. It meant that there would be a near constant chakra drain from each successive clone. As long as they stay 'alive.'

The clones having been formed by a clone didn't last as long in a spar, as opposed to the ones he formed himself. That could only mean that their chakra was fixed and cannot be replenished. Yet, why did he feel a constant drain then.

That made no sense whatsoever. But it was no time for such philosophy. He already realised that even though they do retain 'muscle' memory such as for throwing kunai and shuriken, they are of no use towards physical exercise. Since they were chakra constructs, they had no effect on his physical body.

So, he had to do the physical exercises himself. In a way, it was better for him. He wouldn't become used to 'cheating' as Guy called it. So, while Sakura worked on her endurance and Sasuke sparred with Kakashi, Naruto created several clones to just sit and watch the duo. One even made some notes but they were quickly burnt by a fireball courtesy of the irritated Uchiha.

It wasn't until the second hour when Kakashi halted their 'training' and called them together. 'Okay now Team 7. I hope you have learnt some valuable lessons from the mission in Wave and today and will put them into practice in the future. For now, you have another mission while I go and meet with the Hokage.'

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the lazy Jounin. Was he late to meeting with Hokage as well? Can this man be any more relaxed in life? 'What is it, grocery shopping?'

'River cleaning?' Sakura asked.

'Weed pulling?' Sasuke added.

'Babysitting?' Naruto said again, thinking about the many pointless D-rank missions they had done.

'None of that,' Kakashi replied with his classic eye-smile. 'It's…' Naruto didn't know what happened but there was a clear burst on chakra from Kakashi, which quickly dissipated, but not before being shaped. Into what, he could neither see, nor tell. 'Counterintelligence. Ja ne.'

'What the…,' Naruto grumbled as the infernal sensei vanished in a puff of smoke. Counterintelligence? Why in the world would they need something like this? Kakashi-sensei was just being a lazy ass like usual!

'What a pain,' Sasuke said, his face going back to his broody self. Although perhaps that might have been because of the hopeful look Sakura shot him or the gleam in her eyes.

'Eh whatever,' Naruto shrugged. He couldn't be bothered to waste any more time than he already had. And with that, Naruto walked over to the bridge leaving the two alone.

Sasuke shot him a glare which he promptly ignored as he wondered whether to act on his stupid plan. It may work, or it may backfire. Either way, he wasn't dressed so getting his boxers wet again wasn't that much of a risk.

Technically, if he could attach his feet to the surface of trees, that also meant that he could do the same with the bridge. And so, Naruto walked over to the surface of the water and tried to stand on it, instantly falling into the stream.

Coughing and spitting, he kicked his legs, until his head was above water. Grumbling, Naruto got out of the stream, aware of the smug smirk on the bastard's face and Sakura's shrilling laughter. He shook it off and tried again.

And again. And again, until the water stopped feeling cold altogether and felt like it was his normal body temperature. Or more like his body temperature dropped to that of the water.

He refused to give up until he got the damn water walking exercise. If Kakashi thought the teme could do it, then so could he.

'Dobe forget it. You won't get it,' Sasuke called out from his place where the bastard was training taijutsu against a log despite Sakura also standing there.

'Piss of, teme,' Naruto grumbled to himself, choosing to ignore the teme's taunt and continue with his useless attempts. He was getting a hang of the amount of chakra he needed to put in his feet. But it was the moving water that was the problem.

It disbalanced him and his chakra. The steady stream was always fluctuating. Wait… that was it!

'Ugh, I'm an idiot,' Naruto hit himself on the head for having overlooked such an obvious fact. Hadn't he learned from Danzo to analyse his situation from every angle before plunging into it?

Naruto closed his eyes and centred himself, focusing his chakra into a somewhat steady pattern. But it was so hard, given that his chakra seemed like a fucking tidal wave most of the time.

Trying to calm it down was like trying to calm a blizzard. Virtually impossible. That was why he had such difficulty with even the basic jutsus such as henge, substitution and the clone, the bane of his existence, in the academy. His worst jutsu ever! And now, his only ninjutsu. The irony of the situation was not lost to him.

Instantly, his eyes snapped open. What the fuck?

There were other chakra signatures nearby. He forced himself not to look towards where he felt them but it was so obvious to him. Why the fuck hadn't he noticed them before? How long had they been there?

Damn! Kakashi! What a moronic teacher he was. He knew they were being watched and he had just left them here.

Okay, first things first. Naruto had to figure out who they were. He hadn't concentrated enough when he had first detected them but maybe he could do it without them knowing. Okay, but how to go about doing it?

He would have to prank them. That was a given. Looking over to his teammates, Naruto jumped up and screamed at the top of his lungs, 'Yata! Got it!'

'Baka! What's your problem!' Sakura yelled from her place and Sasuke smirked.

Naruto however had gotten an idea; walked over the stream again and tried to water walk, yet again. But this time instead of channelling chakra to his feet, he attempted to centre it. Somewhere around his heart. Or his gut. He tried both and the middle seemed like the better solution.

He fell yet again into the stream but that didn't matter. This time he made no attempt at getting out, rathe he let himself float using the natural buoyancy. Closing his eyes, he tried to get a reading of the chakra signatures he had sensed.

It didn't take long for him to recognise them. What the hell?!

Why was team eight here? In the woods observing them? Why in the fuck were they spying on his team? And without their sensei. So, that means that this was unauthorised. And more than likely, illegal. But given that they were ninjas, illegal was a very loose term. Murder is illegal in most cases, yet for a ninja it's just another day at work.

Not that he liked his team overmuch but they were still his team! And he would be damned if he let someone, especially the fucking Inuzuka, spy on them and more importantly, him!

Naruto tried his level best to make it seem like nothing had changed. That he hadn't just realised they were being watched, as he got out of the water.

He plastered a grin onto his face and ran towards his teammates.

'Guys, guys. Let's do something. Let's spar,' he exclaimed, as he stopped in front of Uchiha practicing his katas and Sakura fawning over him, presumably on a break from her own training.

As expected, Sasuke Hn-ed and looked away meanwhile Sakura tried to bash him on the head.

'I said no Naruto!' she yelled.

'Ow Sakura-chan!' Naruto rubbed another bump on his head. He was getting really tired of her attitude but for the sake of fooling team eight he had to make it look like nothing had changed.

'C'mon. This is so boring!' He tried to make the teme look at him, trying to plead without his eyes giving away everything but he didn't know how to.

Naruto ignored the hurt he felt when he realised that Hinata was spying on him too. The girl he had thought was his friend was spying on him.

Where did that girl go, who offered to help him with his tree climbing? Where was the girl who used her Byakugan to tell him that he was using way too much chakra in his feet? Has she completely forgotten their time in Wave? Was he that forgettable and unimportant?

Why would she think to do something like that? Was she doing it because of the Inuzuka? Or maybe for him? As much as he wanted to think the second, the first was probably more likely. In his jealousy and need to prove himself stronger, Kiba would ask Hinata to help him in his spying. But why would Shino help them? It made no sense!

He couldn't motion with his eyes to the teme because Hinata would undoubtedly see it with her all-seeing eyes. He had researched the Hyuga clan a little, in his late-night excursions to the library. The Byakugan was capable of seeing over large distances, and through solid objects. That also made it possible for the Hyuga's to see the chakra pathways of individuals.

He didn't know for sure, but he suspected that their style of taijutsu had something to do with it. Why else would they not use force? Naruto had seen enough of Hinata's spars with Kiba and Shino, and then her short fight with Haku to know that the Hyuga don't depend on force to deal damage.

Of course, the library book hadn't gone into detail because obviously, the Hyuga clan would want to keep it a secret.

And there was the problem of three tiny signatures were coming their way. Only a few feet away, on the ground, crawling through the grass. Shino's bugs!

He hadn't spent any time with Shino in the academy, but during Wave he had seen enough of him to know that he utilised bugs for various purposes. Apparently, one of them was for spying. Could they listen to their conversations? If they did, and relayed it back to Shino, did that mean that Shino understood 'bug language'?

But this was not the time for such philosophical questions. He could ponder that later. Right now, his problem was how in the world would he get the bugs to go away. He could hardly shoo away something he shouldn't be able to see or sense?

Naruto cursed mentally. The only way was to kill them. He hoped Shino wouldn't mind but the boy had just set his bugs to spy on them so they were fair game.

'Hey teme. Are you so eager to spend time with your stalker who probably watches you strip that you would want to forgo training?' Naruto decided that taunting was the best option if the teme wouldn't listen to reason.

Immediately, a yell of 'NARUTO!' came followed a fist flying towards his face by a red-faced Sakura.

'Che,' Sasuke sneered at him. 'You're delusional if you think sparring with you can be called training in any way.'

Naruto immediately dodged Sakura's fist and kept up his taunting, backing away all the while. 'Really, Uchiha. You will let her fight your battles. Pathetic.'

'Dobe. You are pushing it!' the teme growled as he also got up, walking towards Naruto. He had needed to blow off some steam and the dobe was providing with an excellent opportunity now with all his bullshit. He could have some fun pummelling the dead-last.

Naruto laughed at Sasuke's expression, for real this time. Just one step, and Naruto felt the tiny chakra signature of one of the bugs under his feet die.

If everything went to plan, they might just get rid of the other two. 'C'mon teme! Or don't you want to show off for your stalker!'

'NARUTO!' Sakura yelled, intent on hitting him this time. She lunged forward and Naruto barely sidestepped, just a little. He couldn't make it seem like he saw through it as soon as the girl had started. Which he had. It was such a pain that he had to fool his own team and team eight all the while trying to kill the damn bugs.

In the next instant, he felt another tiny signature die, presumably by Sakura's foot.

'What are you gonna do? Try to burn me with your tiny fireballs?'

Sasuke had predictably, widened his eyes, the red of the Sharingan springing to life as the boy launched a fireball straight at Naruto.

'Shit!' Naruto cursed. He hadn't actually thought the teme would do it. What was he thinking? He could have killed him had Naruto not launched himself away.

But it seemed Sasuke's focus wasn't on him for the briefest second before he refocused his glare on him.

And all of that effort observing Danzo had finally paid off. In that moment, he knew that Sasuke too was aware of their watchers. He just didn't think that Naruto knew. Naruto smirked internally. He could use this.

The only thing to do now was to decide what to do about them. Sasuke's reaction confirmed another one of Naruto's suspicions.

Like the Byakugan, the Sharingan could also see chakra. Maybe not chakra pathways but chakra nonetheless. So, if they confronted them, they lost any advantage they had. But they might be able to capture them for interrogation. That's a big might.

But realistically speaking, Team 7 was weaker than Team 8, Naruto begrudgingly admitted. Even if he could beat the Inuzuka, and Sasuke took on Shino, Sakura would almost surely lose to Hinata.

And that was when they had no real clue as to the abilities of their spies, other than the most basics they had seen during the Wave mission. So, the safe bet was to give them false information.

Counterintelligence! Kakashi had already known they would have to do it. That insufferable teme!

Naruto was saved having to decide what to do when Sasuke suddenly lunged for him, a right hook aimed for his jaw.

Shit! Naruto dodged, just barely but he did manage but to keep his very slightly increased speed hidden from both Sasuke and the watchers. Team eight might not realise it, but Sasuke surely would. He couldn't afford that. Not now.

'You think you're so tough, dead-last! You're nothing!' Sasuke taunted back as a punch landed on Naruto's ribs.

In that same instant, Naruto growled, lashing out with a weird, wobbly kick to Sasuke's ribs, which was blocked. Much to Naruto's own displeasure, even if he had seen some of Lee's moves, his taijutsu was still severely lacking. So, the kick wasn't staged, but it was his actual kick, and that served to motivate Naruto more.

As soon as they got out of here and he was away from both teams, he needed to research how to get a sensei who would actually train him. This was getting beyond ridiculous now.

And so, what proceeded was another thrashing in the life of Naruto Uzumaki all the while he was grinning like an idiot. The impromptu spar that had resulted from Naruto's taunting had at least served to kill three more bugs that Shino sent out.

That was the end of the sentries, for Naruto presumed Shino wouldn't want to sacrifice more of them, to spy on idiots being idiots.

Mission accomplished.


	11. Chapter 11

_**AN: Naruto isn't hiding his abilities from his teammates, because he doesn't have any. He merely doesn't want them to find out about his weight training. What use it going to be for him if Sasuke goes and does the same. Naruto is trying to bridge the gap between them. Also, glitner: This is one massive, screw up ninja, who spent the four years in the academy sleeping and lazing about. He has not yet had the mental development to understand more complicated stuff. **_

_**Just because the boy can make copies of himself doesn't mean that he will automatically understand, be able to put into use and form strategies around everything he reads from the library. Yes, he has a cheat but his mind needs improving first. And that isn't just done in a couple of weeks. Remember, it has only been three weeks since he came back from Wave. Just because he has Shadow Clones doesn't mean much if he remains just as stupid. So I'm trying to improve him realistically. It would be highly unrealistic if he suddenly started beating Shikamaru at shogi by making his clones read about it. **_

* * *

'What a fucking moron', grumbled Naruto, as he continued hitting the log with supine punches, alternating them with neutral punches. Every so often, the blonde ninja-to-be increased the force he hit with, keeping the speed the same.

It was one of the things he had learnt from watching Guy train Lee. It wasn't that the older genin didn't have quick punches, but unlike what Naruto had thought before, power meant nothing if he didn't have the right technique.

It wasn't anything fancy – like the teme's style – but it was at least the basics. Slowing down gave him the time to focus on his form as he executed his hits.

However, the random and sporadic increased power strikes coupled with angry grunts didn't have anything to do with technique.

No. It was because he was pissed. And unlike the day before, he wasn't all pissed at his sensei. Oh no. Neither was he pissed at his so-called teammate who had all too cheerfully rubbed it in Naruto's face that the dobe wasn't even worth considering him a rival.

No. Who he was pissed at, was himself. No that wasn't right, technically. To be specific, he was pissed at the boy he used to be. What in the world has possessed him to waste four fucking years at the academy, sleeping and lazing about, truanting with dog-breath and Shikamaru?

In truth, what Sasuke had said, while it was harsh, was the undiluted truth. And it was a truth he needed to hear. Not from himself, but from someone who saw his strengths and his flaws on a daily basis.

Kakashi-sensei hadn't bothered obviously. And two months of suffering his negligence, he didn't come to expect anymore. Honestly, he was actually thankful to the teme for his harsh truths.

It was true that Naruto, as he was now, couldn't even be considered a possible rival for the teme. During their impromptu fight, Naruto had for a brief moment, even entertained the notion that he might have improved.

But Sasuke had proven his assumption wrong fairly quickly. Even when he had stopped holding back his minimal increased speed, it did nothing to deter the Uchiha. And the teme had, just like every day, proceeded to wipe the floor with him. One can't after all, improve in leaps and bounds in a week, even with reading books and scrolls, after not having done anything for four years.

'AGHH!' Naruto had tried again more in the last week than in the four years previously, to reign in his emotions. But they were filling him like a trough filling with rainwater in a storm. They needed to be let out.

'What a moron!' Naruto saw himself in place of the log, the grinning idiot wearing his orange jumpsuit, yelling to the world about being Hokage.

With an enraged yell, he cocked back his arm and exploded it out, not paying attention to the screaming pain in his fingers as the wooden pole shattered into a hundred pieces.

'_You're just jealous because you didn't think I could rival you', Naruto, in a moment of petulant anger spat at the Uchiha, from his place on the ground, his face caked with mud. _

_He wasn't surprised to see the bastard's smug smirk. But he was surprised to see him chuckling. Sasuke never laughed. But Naruto wasn't stupid. He could see that there was no mirth in Sasuke's chuckle. _

'_You loser. You really think you're my rival? You only passed because of Iruka's kindness!' Sasuke had growled at him, his sharingan eyes glaring full force. 'You, who even now, can't even do a simple bushin, let alone any of the academy three properly. You couldn't kill Zabuza properly and had to wait till he was down. You didn't even notice that we were being watched! Idiot!' _

_Naruto eyes widened at the stupidity of the teme. Why the fuck would he reveal the information. What a moron! _

_Unfortunately, Sasuke took his shock the wrong way and seemed to revel in the fact that Naruto hadn't even known the spies were present. 'Che! Dobe! I'd sooner call Inuzuka my rival than you!' _

_Naruto had recoiled as if struck by a snake, well aware of the wetness growing in his eyes. But refused to show weakness to this bastard and turned away angrily, yelling a 'fuck you' to the teme. _

_Vaguely, he recognised the spike in said Inuzuka's chakra somewhere where team eight was hiding._

'_I will defeat you! And dog-breath! Mark my words teme!' Naruto had left the grounds then and had proceeded to drown himself in inordinate amounts of ramen. _

It wasn't after he had isolated himself to train later that he had given any thought to Sasuke's harsh but honest words.

Naruto begrudgingly admitted that the teme was right. The only reason he had even passed the henge and substitution parts of the ninjutsu test was because he had nearly exhausted himself the night before, working all through the night. And even then, the fucking clone jutsu was beyond him.

And somewhere along the way, he had forgotten his own words, his nindo, despite his yelling to the world at the top of his lungs. He had given up. He had conceded defeat to the academy three jutsu, and just accepted that he couldn't do them without extreme effort.

'Stupid! Stupid!' he berated himself. But his mind was made up. He would not back down. No matter what happened now.

And with that, he took a deep breath and ran like the devil was on his tail towards the Hokage's office. If Jiji didn't help him, then he would bug Danzo until the one-eyed cripple agreed to. It was a desperate measure, but the times justified it, he felt. It wasn't closing time yet and the old man usually worked late hours.

But as Naruto came up to the tower, he saw the large number of stairs he usually took. 'Fuck that', he grumbled and turned his attention towards the window opening into the Hokage's office.

With a great, practised leap, Naruto grabbed onto the pole nearby swinging a few times, gathering momentum and launching himself at the wall. But he didn't stop, for he would have undoubtedly glided down it.

Instead, he grabbed onto the bricks jutting out then pushed himself up, pushing chakra in his hands and feet every time. But he did not attempt to the stick to the wall. For he had learnt his lessons from the many times he had tried to prank the old man.

Now, he knew that for some reason the he couldn't stick chakra to the wall. It was oil and water just slipped off. The phenomenon was quite interesting but it was no time to dwell on it. As Naruto made the final leap the ledge outside the old man's office, he knew he was being watched by at least two hidden ANBU.

'Yo Jiji!' Naruto grinned, glad that he had taken the time to wipe his tear streaks from his face. He had even bandaged his bruised and bleeding right hand.

'Naruto-kun', the old man and turned smiled, looking from him to the window he was sitting.

Naruto saw something like recognition pass through the Hokage's eyes before it was wiped away much too quickly for him to study it.

What he didn't see however, was a much too subtle hidden gesture the Hokage made to his ANBU, who consequently relaxed the taut, ninja string hidden by genjutsu over the window, ready to take an assassin's head off.

It didn't strike them as anything extraordinary though. Even though many of the shinobi and the civilians in the village didn't like the boy's close relationship with the Hokage, they had come to accept it, in time.

Though, there were very few who knew why that was. After all, the Hokage doesn't make it a point to befriend every orphan in the village. But that information was highly classified and was known by only those with the highest clearance.

'You could have used the door if you wanted to visit', the Hokage motioned to the normal route of entry.

'Naah', Naruto waved it off, 'It takes too long. Besides, this is much better.'

The Hokage chuckled, looking at the boy who so often claimed that he was only waiting to take his job. And his hat. And to be honest, he couldn't wait for the day. 'Well now that you're here, it gives me a good excuse to take a break.'

Naruto eyes widened momentarily before he gave him an honest, cheeky smile. It had been months since he had had eaten with the old man.

'How about some sushi?' the Hokage asked, already having gotten out from behind the desk.

'You bet, old man', Naruto replied. But uncertainty coloured his response. One that wasn't missed by the veteran of two Shinobi wars, 'If you're sure.'

'Of course, I am', Hiruzen answered the boy, hoping to put the boy at ease. This was new however. Naruto had never been uncertain when Hiruzen had invited the boy to eat with him.

Half an hour later, they were settled into a nice cosy, sushi restaurant, the Golden Leaf. Although not terribly fancy, Naruto was still very highly underdressed for it, not that he cared. But since he was with the Hokage, nobody even made a face.

Some small talk later, the Hokage finally decided to get to the bottom of the young genin's uncharacteristically dour mood. Of course, the boy had tried to hide it from him, admirably even. But he wasn't taught by the Nidaime for nothing.

He briefly wondered what had prompted this more subdued Naruto to try to hide his emotions. That was not at all the boy he knew. Was he perhaps becoming serious about being a ninja?

And a more traitorous part of his mind supplied an alternate. Or was the reason for this change more sinister in nature. No! He refused to think such troubling thoughts. For all he knew, the issue could be as simple as that young Haruno girl not accepting his invitation for a date.

'I sense something is troubling you, Naruto-kun', the Hokage said, sipping his sake, and keeping it a decent length away from the young genin.

Naruto smiled as the Hokage took the sake cup further away, remembering the last time he had drank it, thinking it was water. Truthfully, he didn't remember much but according to the old man, it had been a mistake.

'Kakashi', he started but was instantly interrupted by the Hokage.

'Kakashi-sensei, Naruto-kun.'

Naruto pursed his lips, but conceded, 'Kakashi-_sensei _isn't training me at all.'

The Hokage's eyes widened for a fraction of a second. That was not true. He had seen Naruto practising his throwing whilst using Kage bunshin, in his crystal ball. 'What do you mean, Naruto?'

If the boy realised the more serious turn in the lack of honorific, he didn't say it. Accusing one's sensei of a lack of training was serious business.

With that Naruto launched into a rant about how Kakashi favoured the teme, who he quickly realised was Sasuke, and even worked on Sakura's stamina with her somewhat. But all he kept saying to Naruto was practice his basics, and only sparred with him two or three times a week.

'How the hell am I supposed to practice when he wouldn't tell me how!' Naruto exclaimed hotly, momentarily waving his hands around like the twelve-year-old he was.

Hiruzen chuckled, having expected something much worse.

'It's not funny old man', Naruto narrowed his eyes, ignoring the whispering of some people who thought it was too rude of him to address the Hokage as such.

'I am not saying it is', Hiruzen answered. He would have to talk to Kakashi about his attitude towards his team, it seems. 'From what I have seen of your academy graduation test, you do need to work on the basics. In that, your sensei isn't wrong.'

Seeing a barrage of emotion colour the boy's face, he raised his hand to stop him. 'But you are also right. He cannot expect you to figure it out without giving you some pointers at least. I assume you have done the tree walking exercise?'

Naruto eyes gleamed as he saw the sliver of opportunity this was, 'Yes!' he nodded. 'I have even mastered sticking multiple leaves to me and my shadow clones whilst tree climbing.'

Hiruzen almost laughed at that response, reminding him of his student many years ago. He too had come up with a similarly ingenious way of trying to control his large reserves.

'Very clever, Naruto-kun. Now, tell me. What would be more beneficial for you in the long run? For me or your sensei to tell you everything you need to do? Or that you figure it out on your own?'

Naruto knew the answer to that in an instant. He had realised it just after he had finished Tobirama's book. 'Me figuring it out obviously. But that doesn't mean I can't get any pointers, Jiji!'

'True', the Hokage conceded his point. 'So, what do you want from me?'

Naruto opened his mouth, immediately intent on asking for help on taijutsu or even shurikenjutsu or maybe even give him another sensei, since this one was obviously useless. One who would at least teach him something.

But then he saw the almost expectant look in his eyes and realised the old man was testing him. And he had very nearly failed it.

Hiruzen waited for the answer he knew was coming and he had already prepared his response to it. However, he was left entirely baffled when the boy responded with, 'You can tell the Chunins in the library not to kick me out.'

'The library, Naruto-kun? I wasn't aware you went there', the old man said, not feeling slightly guilty about the lie. Of course, he knew that the boy snuck in at night, and was mildly impressed that he hadn't set off any of the traps yet.

'Yes, well….' Naruto scratched the back of his head, 'I have to learn from somewhere don't I? Even if scrolls can only get me so far.'

Between that, and his extra training with Guy, Hiruzen had already been suitably impressed by the boy's drive to succeed to not deny him such a trivial thing, which was his right anyway. But he needed to make something clear to the young genin.

'Okay, Naruto-kun. But you have to promise me you will not attempt any of the advanced jutsu in the library. It can be very, very dangerous for you.'

Naruto nodded eagerly. He had already expected it, and truly had no intention of even going for the more complicated jutsu until he could master his already flawed ones.

Then a golden opportunity showed itself by way of Hokage's incentive. 'What are you working on, if I may ask?'

Naruto knew it wasn't a request in the slightest. His brief one-hour conversations with Danzo had showed him as much.

Expecting an answer akin to a fancy taijutsu style or shurikenjutsu technique, yet again, he was left surprised when boy replied, in a rather subdued voice, 'The Academy Three jutsu. I just can't get them down'. Leave it to the most unpredictable ninja of Konoha to surprise even him.

However, his inability to do the academy three had basis in a much more serious matter. One that needed very careful monitoring. But the Hokage knew that if the boy managed it, with his large reserves, he would come out of the experience much stronger than if he simply went on to more advanced techniques.

Or even if, as he suspected Naruto wanted, he gave the boy another sensei. That simply wasn't possible. Not only because it will be very hard to find someone to train him seriously, but he couldn't trust them not to be coloured by their bigotness.

Even if they agreed, including him in their team would not only disrupt Team 7 but also the team he put Naruto in. Other than that, there was a certain war-hawk who would pounce at the opportunity and that was something that Hiruzen wanted to prevent at all costs.

No, giving him another sensei just wasn't practical…. yet. The opportunity may present itself later. Or he could call his student back earlier than planned. First, he would give the boy a test.

'Good. Good', he replied, surprising Naruto who turned his downcast eyes to him. 'That's very wise of you, Naruto-kun. And, if you manage to do it, within three weeks, I shall teach you a jutsu myself.'

For the first time during their meeting, Naruto's eye lit up, like the stars shone out of the blue irises.

It wasn't every day that the Hokage offered to teach anyone anything. 'Really? That's great, old man! I'll get them down, you'll see!'

The Hokage chuckled, glad to see at least some of the old Naruto in this new, evolving genin, 'I have no doubt. I shall take care of your entry into the library and from tomorrow, you shall have no problems, in that at least.'

It was genuine smiles like this one that made his dreary job more bearable for the war-weary veteran.

* * *

'Kiba-kun's preening like a peacock', Hinata mused internally as they had rushed from their hiding place back to their own training ground and even further away, heading quickly towards the Hokage Tower.

The image of a peacock puffing out its chest with Kiba's head made her giggle and pulled her out of her dark thoughts, distracting her from the thundering heart.

What if Sasuke had realised who was spying on them? What if he told Naruto-kun? How was she going to fix it? How was she going to convince the boy who was more than just an inspiration to her, that she wasn't spying on him because of malice.

Would he understand? Or would he dismiss her without even listening to her, much like clan members did? Surely, Naruto-kun wouldn't do that. No. He was too kind for that.

Suddenly, she felt ashamed of her previous thoughts. Thinking that Naruto-kun had known they were there and was acting just to deceive them. She should have known that he couldn't do something like that. He was above such deception.

Kiba puffed out his chest, seeing Hinata giggle when he reported the dobe's pathetic skills to their sensei. If they can be called skills. Surely, now that Hinata had seen Naruto getting beat up in such a disgraceful way, she would get over her silly crush on the loser. She would see he wasn't good enough for.

Kurenai raised an eyebrow at her young genin team, listening to Kiba's rather biased report. She nodded, as the Inuzuka finished and motioned for Shino to add anything else.

'As expected, they lack any sensory ability whatsoever', the bug-user said. 'Team Ten might prove a better challenge if Ino-san has inherited Inoichi-sama's sensory ability.'

'Hinata', she prompted the girl who was now confusing her more than Kakashi. Didn't she have feelings for the Uzumaki? Why then was she glad about his weaknesses? She wasn't cruel like others, so what amused her so?

'Do you have anything to add?' But she already knew the girl wouldn't say anything.

However, not only her but Shino and Kiba were visibly surprised when the girl replied, 'Hai, sensei.'

Hinata never volunteered for anything. What had changed in the two hours she had sent her team on the mission?

At Kurenai's encouraging nod, Hinata took a breath, 'I agree with Shino-kun that Team 7 doesn't have a sensory ninja. B…but, their team in also imbalanced.'

Kurenai raised an eyebrow at that statement. She hadn't expected for any genin to notice it. Surprising and interesting. 'Explain.'

'From the abilities we saw, I assume team 7 was supposed to a be heavy assault team', Hinata replied, wondering if she should say everything she had noticed.

But if she didn't, then it might not help Naruto-kun at all. Perhaps…. Perhaps if she brought it to sensei's attention, she might be able to do something about it.

'Sasuke-san is very talented at taijutsu and ninjutsu. Sakura-san has very good chakra control, hinting at a practice in genjutsu. But their sensei deliberately favours Sasuke-san over Naruto-kun, which also explains why Naruto-kun is still practising tree climbing and shuriken throwing. Other than Naruto-kun's ability to create tangible clones, which we had already seen in Wave Country, he doesn't offer much to the team.'

'Much like myself', she added mentally.

Kurenai could see that the speech had taken a lot of effort for her to say. Hinata tried, whenever possible not to say anything negative about anyone. So, it was surprising, to say the least, to see her point out Uzumaki's flaws. She wondered if she should tell her three genin that the intel they had brought back was most probably false, other than perhaps, Uzumaki's skills. She had seen his taijutsu in the academy and it seems that he was just as bad now as he was two months ago.

Although why Kakashi wasn't working with him on improving it, she wasn't sure. It certainly wasn't allowed nor was it ethical to spend more time training one genin than the other two. Even if said genin has the Sharingan. She would have thought that Kakashi would have known this. Just like she couldn't spend more time with Hinata than Shino and Kiba, no matter how much she felt the girl needed individual attention. Should she talk to the Sandaime about this? Was it any of her business? She would give it some more thought, first.

It was obvious to her that Sasuke had somehow found out about her team's spying much earlier and acted to counter it. He had to get credit for that. Though, his response wasn't perfect either. He should not have blurted it out so openly. She took comfort in the fact that her team wasn't very far behind than Team 7. In fact, they might even be a little ahead.

Kurenai wasn't by nature a competitive person but more than one person had objected to her being promoted to a jounin and so quickly given a genin team to lead. But was it because she was a woman, or because she focused on genjutsu which the male dominated ninja ranks see as weak, she did not know. Either way, she would prove them wrong.

'It could also be that Uzumaki-san doesn't have the drive to improve', she replied, wanting to see how Hinata responded.

Kiba instantly agreed with her, 'The baka only knows how to scream about becoming Hokage!'

However, the girl's head whipped up so fast she thought Hinata might hurt herself.

The young girl vigorously shook her head, 'N…No. Naruto-kun tries very hard. He did not back down even when he knew that Sasuke-san was stronger than him. He keeps pushing himself forward even when he fails', Hinata replied, with a sudden and certain fire in her eyes.

It had taken all her power and self-control to stay in her hiding spot and not go to the poor, strong Naruto-kun after seeing him being beaten into the muddy ground. Not that she was under any delusion that she could do anything against Sasuke-san.

But she had seen the tears in Naruto-kuns eyes. And that sight broke her heart more than she could imagine. Or explain.

It was very rude and unwarranted of Sasuke-san to say such hurtful things to Naruto-kun. Couldn't he see that his teammate was hurting. Couldn't he see that Naruto-kun was trying so hard.

It painfully reminded her of her similar situation. Just when she was feeling down, and feeling pity for him, Naruto-kun, very much like himself, had stood up yet again and proclaimed he would defeat Sasuke-san and Kiba-kun.

She hadn't needed the Byakugan to see the absolute conviction on his face, or hear the confidence in his voice, the certainty that he will make his ambition come true.

Yes, Sasuke-san had said harsh words, but she had also seen the acceptance in Naruto-kun's face. Acceptance of his weakness. But unlike her, he didn't allow it to get him down. Instead, he used it to motivate him.

It spurred her on even more. No longer will she allow her own weakness to stand in her way. If Naruto-kun could keep fighting on, even with his weaknesses, then so could she.

Hinata raised her head, conviction eminent in her voice, 'Naruto-kun is the most driven person I know', missing Kiba's hardening eyes and his dour look.

Kurenai inwardly smiled at the girl. Her unfounded suspicions were proving wrong. This wasn't just any silly crush that her student harboured.

'_Well, well Hinata. Who would have expected that?',_ Kurenai thought, amused. But apart from her amusement, there was also relief.

Her fear that Hinata's feelings for Uzumaki would hinder her ninja development were unfounded. She wasn't being held down by them, she was being motivated.

Half an hour later, Hinata walked to her father's office, stamping down on her furiously beating heart. Why did he want to see her? Dare she hope he would resume her training?

Tentatively, she knocked on the door. 'Enter', came her father's stern voice from the inside.

However, he wasn't alone, as she had expected. In the office, there sat several of Hyuga Council members, most of them from the main branch. And most of them watched with disapproval at her muddy state, for she had come straight from training and not had time enough to change.

'You come to us dressed like that! What a shame you are on the clan!' said the shrill voice of Akani Hyuga, an ancient female Hyuga from her father's side.

'Peace woman', said a great-uncle, 'I already have a headache. No need to worsen it. Sit, girl.'

'H…Hai', Hinata replied, and sat in front of them on tatami mat, trying her best not to fidget under their stern gazes. She wasn't able to, however, stop herself from clenching her jacket in her fists.

After a long silence, that seemed to span an eternity, her father spoke. 'Do you know why you have been summoned?'

Still looking at the floor, Hinata shook her head, 'No, otou-sama.'

As expected, his gaze hardened even more. 'Ever since you were five, we had hoped you would become a strong heiress in order to protect the clan. But your tutors consistently reported you being average. You proved that in the academy tests and results for four years!'

'_No! This wasn't happening!'_

Hinata's fists tightened around her clutched jacket. Her already bruised hands were whitening. Her fingers were losing feeling.

'You lost the match with Hanabi and even then, we took no action. We handed you over to a genin team, hoping that you would be of some use to the Hokage and the village, if you can't serve the Hyuga. Even there you have proven yourself weak, contributing consistently less than your teammates.'

Hinata shook her head, 'N…no, tou-san. I…' cursing herself for her stuttering at a time like this. Could she get any weaker?

'Your recent failure in the C-rank to Wave just justified our decision.'

Decision?! Hinata trembled, shaking her head even more in denial. This couldn't be happening. She wasn't of age yet. Her father had agreed to wait on a decision until she was. This wasn't fair! He was going back on his word!

'We simply cannot allow a failure to succeed me as Head of the Hyuga Clan', Hiashi continued, paying no need to the silent protestations of his weak daughter. She was simply too kind.

'No! Tou-san. Please', Hinata protested, trying to make him see reason. She had made a promise to her mother. To be brave. To be strong! She had to uphold it.

'As such, we have decided that you will forego your place as heiress for Hanabi, who even now shows incredible talent', Hiashi informed his daughter, seeing the last vestiges of her protestations weaken, the shaking stop.

Disappointing! He had been hoping she would put up a fight, to prove to them that she deserved to fight for her place. Hanabi would never have given in so meekly.

Hinata had already been readying herself for such a decision since she had lost the match to Hanabi a couple of years ago.

'When you inevitably fail the chunin exam, you will be removed from the active roster. For we have already accepted a betrothal contract for you.'

Where was the conviction that had filled her seeing Naruto-kun respond to a superior foe? Was she only talk and no action? No! She was not! She still needed to find the person who had committed the crime against her mother and make him pay. Her mother's eyeless face and her pain; Naruto-kun's conviction and his confidence in the face of adversity, swarmed in front of her eyes.

Chakra surged, her Byakugan activated without hand signs; her head shot up to glare at her father and she opened her mouth, silencing Hiashi momentarily, intent on making herself heard.

And for the first time, the timid, shy, girl spoke out against father and clan.

'I will not! Believe it!'


	12. Chapter 12

'Naruto-baka! Why don't you just make clones and we can get this over with quickly', Sakura threw the blonde an annoyed look as they cleaned the river, yet again. Why do people throw rubbish in this one anyway? This was so disgusting.

'Why would I do that, Sakura?' Naruto asked, cocking one eyebrow up, aware that Kakashi was paying full attention to them, whilst lounging about on the tree branch.

'It's called teamwork, baka!' Sakura growled at him, and quickly grabbed the nearby piece of floating plastic bag.

Before he could answer though, Sakura's scream of 'EWWWWW', rang through the creek they were in. 'DIGUSTING!'

Naruto looked over to her and burst out laughing. Her hand was covered in shit, the plastic bag apparently had some baby pampers in it.

'NARUTO! THIS ISN'T FUNNY!' Sakura yelled, and attempted to flick off the shit from her hand onto him.

'Oye! Watch it!' Naruto shouted and quickly dove underwater to avoid the thrown shit.

'Ugh' Sasuke too quickly sidestepped and watched the shit taken away by the current. 'Watch it, Sakura.'

'Oh, I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun!' Sakura apologised all the while glaring at the re-emerging blonde on the other side of the riverbank. 'If the baka would just summon up clones, we would be done with this mission by now', she said, washing her hands in the flowing water.

While Sasuke and Naruto had the job of walking in the river, picking up trash with nets and putting it in the bag, Sakura however was training as well as doing the mission, by swimming up and down. Presumably, it was to work on her stamina, according to their useless sensei.

'And I already said no', Naruto was adamant at doing such a thing. 'Tell them Kakashi-sensei.'

Sasuke looked over at the blonde, wondering what the hell was going on with him. Usually, he was all for doing the missions as quickly as possible, by spamming out his endless clones and then getting back to training.

Since when did Naruto not want to train? Apparently, he wasn't the only thinking such a thing as Kakashi said to the blonde, 'Mah mah, Naruto. I don't see any problem in doing so. Besides, Sakura does bring up a good point. It is teamwork.'

Naruto bristled at the unfairness of it, but refused to give into the anger which was blossoming now. Why would he ever think Kakashi-sensei would ever support him?

'It isn't teamwork because I would be doing their share of the work. And since I'm doing more work, then I should be getting paid more!' with that, he threw a glare at Kakashi and turned away, getting out of the creek seeing as they were done.

Now though, all three were looking at him as if he had grown another head or something. 'What?' he asked, annoyed, drying himself and putting him clothes back on.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at him, 'Nothing, loser.'

Kakashi however was not convinced. Since when did Naruto care about how much money he made? His genin was changing right in front of his eyes. He didn't know the reason but he could predict what the effects of it were going to be on the team. And none of the scenarios looked too good.

Sakura mumbled something about Kakashi-sensei not telling Naruto off, to Sasuke under her breath but the blonde heard it. And he had had enough of it. 'What do you say?' he glared at the pinky.

Sakura who was almost hanging off of Sasuke's arm looked at him heatedly. 'I said you, like always idiot, are ruining our teamwork and then Kakashi sensei doesn't teach us anything because of it!'

'Me!' Naruto momentarily raised his voice at her, shocking all three of his teammates. He never yelled at Sakura. Ever. 'It's you who is asking me to do your share of the work because you're just a lazy too do it! And how is me refusing that ruining the teamwork? Kakashi-sensei never teaches us anything anyway.'

Naruto looked from her to the sensei who casually walked, reading his smut, as if he wasn't being accused of not teaching his students.

Sakura was momentarily frozen in spot, staring at the blonde who glared at her, wondering what had changed within him. She was about to retort, when Naruto continued pointing at Sasuke.

Kakashi just shook his head at their bickering, just as Sasuke ignored them, or pretended to anyway. It was the same as everyday this past week. Naruto had gotten increasingly confrontational with Sakura and Sasuke.

While Kakashi himself, wasn't an advocate of taking shortcuts, this recent reluctance of Naruto's to help his teammates using Shadow Clones spelled something bad for the future of the team. Just like that, his suspicion was proven right when the blonde goaded the Uchiha.

'Besides, why don't you ask the bastard here to do it', Naruto narrowed his eyes at Sasuke, who only raised an eyebrow. Whatever else Naruto hated about the teme; he was impressed by how Sasuke managed to exude extreme arrogance by an action as simple as raising of an eyebrow. He had to learn how to do that.

'What do you mean, Naruto-baka!' Sakura yelled, looking from Naruto to Sasuke, trying to figure out why her crush looked disturbed.

Kakashi had foreseen this coming a mile away, and quickly moved to intercept the oncoming disaster. 'Mah mah, Naruto. I agree with you. You shouldn't need to create clones just to finish a mission earlier than expected.'

Naruto was seemingly surprised. Never had Kakashi agreed with him, especially against Sasuke. But what the sensei said next, dashed his hopes.

'But on the other hand, a teammate should always be ready to use any of his skills to the aid of his teammates. Someday, your lives may depend on it', Kakashi said seriously.

He had learned this the hard way and dearly paid the price for his ignorance. He would not wish the same for his students. Even if they were very accomplished at giving him a headache with their endless bickering.

Naruto grumbled; the pervert had a point. Hell, it wasn't that he was overly worried about money. No, that was just an excuse to hide the real reason. He needed a more solid argument if he wanted to steer them away from realising the truth.

Suddenly, he remembered a passage in Tobirama's book. Surely, the Nidaime would know better than a perverted jounin.

'A ninja should always conserve his chakra on missions, sensei. He should only use ninjutsu as a last resort', he said, hoping this will halt the oncoming disaster.

All three looked at the blonde as if he had just asked for their kidneys. After a long, pregnant pause, Sasuke snorted, 'Says the idiot whose only response to any situation is to throw shadow clones at it.'

Sakura burst out in giggles, 'He is right, Naruto-baka.'

Naruto narrowed his eyes, not seeing the inquisitive look on Kakashi's face, 'Oh yeh. If he's so right then maybe he can do the damn jutsu next time.'

Sasuke's smug smirk turned into a glare. Directed at Naruto, who knew he was onto something. Internally, the blonde smirked, 'I'm sure he's stolen it by now', and knew he was right by the way Sasuke's eyes narrowed at him.

Indeed, he had previously seen those damn Sharingan spin, and Naruto had suspected he was copying the jutsu.

Kakashi could have slammed Naruto's mouth shut if it meant that Sasuke wouldn't be goaded. But as it happens, it would have only spurned on the Uchiha more. Damn Naruto! He just had to go there.

Indeed, Sasuke had brought up this exact problem before, and Kakashi had shut it down quickly. He just wasn't ready to attempt the dangerous, forbidden jutsu. He simply didn't have the reserves that his teammate had. And so, Kakashi had vehemently refused to teach it to him.

Naruto however, didn't stop there. 'Or is it that the oh-so-great Uchiha can't create Shadow Clones that I can spam out in my sleep?', he laughed seeing the disgruntled face of the Uchiha. 'I'm right, aren't I? You can't do it.'

'Dobe!' Sasuke growled, annoyed enough that he was about to lunge at the troublesome blonde when Kakashi interrupted.

'Enough Naruto! I have specifically forbidden Sasuke to use the shadow clone jutsu!' Kakashi gave Naruto a stern glare but it did nothing to wipe off the smug grin on the blonde's face.

Natuto looked from Kakashi to the annoyed face of the teme, and immediately came to the only logical conclusion. One that pleased him to no end. 'Aha! You', he pointed at Sasuke, 'Don't have enough chakra for it!'

'Naruto!' Kakashi said again, just seconds away from reprimanding his genin.

'Sasuke-kun doesn't need to throw shadow clones uselessly, Naruto-baka!' Sakura yelled, seeing the increasing tension between her two teammates.

Naruto whipped his head to the pinky, enraged at her hypocrisy. Not two minutes ago, she was telling him off for not creating them. 'Nobody asked you, you flat-chested chopping board!' He had just about had it with her and her bullshit. He couldn't take it anymore.

Naruto, paying no mind to the pinky, turned to and started to walk away. He heard the gasp and sharp of intake of breath from Sakura.

Sakura stopped dead. Then the words registered in her mind. 'Flat chested! Chopping board!'

Inner Sakura yelled in indignation, grabbing her chest protectively. Outer Sakura fumed, grinding her teeth, fist clenching in rage! It wasn't her fault that she hadn't developed a chest like Hinata or even Ino-pig! She had even tried to look up jutsus for it.

'WHAT DID YA SAY NARUTO!'

The enraged yell could have been heard from the other side of Konoha. As was the battle cry that followed. Sakura cocked her arm back, intent on sending the blonde idiot who dared to comment on her chest, into next week for this insult.

Naruto heard the yell and knew what was coming. Yet he didn't turn. The punch landed on top of the blonde's head and everybody expected the same as always. Naruto lying on the floor, massaging the painful lump forming on his head.

Which was why the prompt bursting of Naruto into smoke shocked them all. A Shadow Clone! Since when?!

Elsewhere, in the library, Naruto chuckled.

* * *

'This is a mistake', Harui grumbled, as she, her sensei and teammates trudged along the path to the Village Hidden in the Leaves. They had left Kirigakure a week ago, and she felt increasingly uncomfortable in the new country.

'It may well be. But it is a mission from the Daimyo', her sensei replied, not at all worried about the presences following them in the trees. She may be a fourteen-year-old genin, but even her sensei had said that she was a sensor unlike any she had seen before in Kiri.

Unfortunately, while that wasn't a death sentence in her village, it did cause her to be looked at with suspicion and caution. Bigoted, idiotic villagers and they're stupid superstitions. More than once, she had wondered why she even stayed in Kiri anymore. What was there that was left for her?

But then, she remembers her sensei and her teammates and the promise of fighting for something better, a future village she could be proud of, and she's pulled out from her treasonous thoughts. Thoughts, which in a country like the Land of Water, would be enough to get her executed, if found out.

Ashamed by the route her darkening thoughts had taken her again, she chose to observe the surroundings again, feeling a slight jealousy.

As their group travelled towards the large village – which was more like a city – known as Konoha, the passed the thick copse of trees, lush vegetations and even plentiful farms and fields.

It was no wonder that the Land of Fire was one of the richest countries in the world. Not only due to its size and large territory, but the frankly immense amount of business it does importing and exporting valuable commodities such as vegetables, fruits, medicinal plants, wheat and barley.

After all, a person could live without a kunai. But he couldn't live without food in his belly. And Fire Country capitalised on it greatly. It was obvious the moment they had set foot on the harbour village.

From there that they had been followed and still were, on the road leading to Konoha. Like every genin in her village, she had been taught and made to memorise not just their own village's and country's history, but others as well.

The world, or at least the mapped and known world, was divided into five main countries, known as the Five Great Countries, with other minor ones scattered here, there and in the middle.

Each country was governed by its political ruler, the Daimyo and but some have their own shinobi Hidden Villages. Only the Five Great Villages' leaders were called Kages. While the Daimyo was like the King of the country, the Kage was akin to a General, in charge of shinobi forces in said country.

She hadn't been to many other countries, due to her own being embroiled in a civil war, but from the casual and common sight of shinobi in civilian cities, it was obvious to her that Land of Fire was the first country to adopt the organised Hidden Village system.

While it was true that the Kage served the Daimyo, much like every ninja serves the Kage, it was also true that neither could function properly without the other. Thus, there existed a tentative peace and partnership between the two, in most countries with Hidden Villages.

The Daimyo of each country had his own forces, usually consisting of legions of samurai, and a smaller contingent of hired ninja, not affiliated with the Hidden Village and loyal directly and only to the Daimyo.

While the VIP civilians still used ninja for missions, protection and information gathering, it was an accepted fact that shinobi weren't usually trusted very much, even by the Daimyo hiring them.

That may be in part due to their lack of honourable tactics in battle, or due to the nature of the work they did, requiring stealth, secrecy and sabotage.

This, more often than not, put most shinobi at odds with the samurai who worked with a code of conduct, or Bushido as they called it.

The relationship between the Kings and Generals varied from country to country. In the Land of Fire, the Daimyo even hired exceptionally talented ninja to serve as bodyguards for him and his family, called the Guardian Ninja Twelve. This was not the accepted norm in other countries, such as Lightning, Wind and Earth.

It was however, common to Land of Water where in the past, the Water Daimyos have hired and even wedded and bedded ninja from Kiri. It was also an accepted fact of the allegiance (or service) between the Hidden Village and its country, that any war that the Daimyo engages in, the Hidden Village would have to supply ninja to fight in it.

The opposite was however, not true. If a Hidden Village was embroiled in a war, its Daimyo usually didn't bother helping, leaving the shinobi to clean up their own mess. In the case of Land of Water, its ninja village, Kiri had a Kage who was an accepted psychopath, engaged in the genocide of his own people. Well, those who carried a Kekkei Genkai at least.

The Daimyo, who usually wouldn't have bothered, in this case was also a distrustful, suspicious, maniac in agreement with the extremist policies of the Mizukage. As such, not only did he approve of the Mizukage's actions, but he also supplied his own men to 'keep the peace' as it were.

As a result, not only had Kirigakure been engaged in a civil war between the Mizukage's forces and the bloodline clans, for several years, the country was also completely isolated and off limits to outsiders, on orders of the Daimyo. It was yet another tactic to isolate the Kiri rebels and leave them friendless.

But all of that politics was thrown out of the window when the Daimyo of said country was targeted by one of his own vassal ninja. And when that ninja – subsequently gone rogue – was killed in battle, naturally the Daimyo would send a group to contact the shinobi who did good deed.

Civilian or shinobi, Daimyo or Kage, if there was one thing she learnt from her sensei, it was that 'all those who gain power, are afraid to lose it'.

And that was what she suspected was going on here, under the cover of their 'mission'. Harui cursed herself for being distracted by her own wandering thoughts, as they came within sight of the large green open door, in the absurdly large wall built around the village.

Stilling, she composed herself, knowing that a reprimand from her sensei was coming soon. And she was right.

'Stop fidgeting, Harui', said her sensei not looking away from the two chunin in the checking booth and several guards who had also turned up, some not even bothering to hide their gawking. Pathetic!

She didn't know how her sensei did it, or perhaps she revelled in it, but if it was her, she would be highly annoyed if every man she met looked at her breasts first.

'Hai', Harui replied, even if she felt that her sensei should have directed the reprimand to the boy standing behind her. Carefully she took up the offensive position behind the opulent carriage they guarded, whilst her other teammate yawned, casually standing in front of it.

'Halt', said one spiky, black-haired chunin at the gate, who even as he spoke had a blush covering his face. 'State your business please.'

'Here on a mission from the Water Daimyo with his daughter, the Princess, to see the Hokage', her sensei replied, handing over their papers to the chunin.

Harui vaguely wondered why he had the strip of bandage covering the bridge of his nose. Had he been decked by some girl he perved at? Probably.

His friend, the one who wore a bandana, struck her as more serious and was watching them suspiciously.

'Of course,', the chunin replied, motioning forward with his hand. 'Please, follow me', he began to lead them inside almost immediately, confirming her suspicion. They had already been aware of their approach. News sure does travel fast in this country, she mused.

They hadn't even passed the outpost even a few hours ago! Was it ANBU that had been tailing them? They must be pretty pathetic if she could sense them.

Her party was led towards the large, central red building with the kanji for Fire on it, which she presumed was the Hokage Tower. Harui was constantly on guard and was incessantly annoyed by her teammate for being so relaxed. Not only were they in a potentially hostile village whilst escorting a VIP, she had heard how Konoha hordes Kekkei Genkai.

Kami forbid if they learnt about hers. That wasn't the only reason she hadn't wanted to come to this village. Konoha still likely bore a grudge from what Kiri did in the last war. And that did not bear well for them.

And even if the Fire Shadow was an old man, he was still the same person who was hailed as the God of Shinobi, the Professor and the one who had killed the Second Raikage in single combat. That alone was enough to set her on edge. Not that she showed it…. much.

They ignored the increasing whispers from the villagers who blatantly looked and whispered, some even going as far as pointing them out to their friends. It was to be expected. The Princess' opulent carriage was guarded by no less than ten samurai and her team, that they were foreign was blatantly obvious from their clothing and headbands.

Aside from that, one didn't see samurai many times in a shinobi village. All in all, it was practically impossible not to be in the sight of every bystander.

But even as the Princess was greeted by the old man in red and white robes, Harui wondered about the ninja the Kiri hunter-nin had told them about: Naruto Uzumaki.


	13. Chapter 13

Elsewhere, in the library, Naruto chuckled as his shadow clone was destroyed and its memories came rushing back. Not for the first time did the blonde marvel at the genius that was Tobirama Senju. The Shadow Clone just was a creation of pure, unadulterated intelligence. He wondered how the Nidaime had even come up with such an idea.

Not to mention how he even went about going to create such a complicated, yet devastatingly simple jutsu consisting of only one handsign. As much as he researched the four previous leaders, the Nidaime was quickly becoming his favourite Hokage. But he didn't have much time in the day to spend on his interest in learning about them.

Naruto's early rising at nearly five in the morning had had one benefit of increasing his stamina and endurance since he had to very nearly drag himself to team training or missions after training with Guy. The downside however, was that his body was in a perpetually shattered state, he was always tired and always aching terribly.

Even now, as he sat in a secluded corner of the library, behind a veritable mountain of scrolls, he was nursing his aching muscles. Sure, he might be growing faster or stronger, not that he had checked much, but being constantly tired was quite troublesome.

Not once did the blonde complain about the gruelling pace that Guy and Lee set, nor the absolutely insane number of laps they made him run. For Lee always did a lot more than him. If it was going to make him stronger, he would go through much worse than that.

Naruto had however, stopped wasting much of his time by going to D-Rank missions himself. What was the point of wasting an average of three to four hours per chore, when he could be researching or training by himself?

He had already wasted too much of his time in the academy. Not for the first time, did he wonder how much time he would be saving now had he just stayed awake in Iruka's classes. Not only that, but he had wasted nine years of his life trying to get the ignorant villagers to accept him. And now, he was doing the same with his team.

What an idiot he had been, he scoffed mentally. Why would he ever have wanted their acceptance when it was beyond clear that they would never come around? But enough was enough. No longer would he waste more of his time trying to get his teammates, or the villagers to like him. He no longer cared if they did or not.

So, what if he didn't have any friends. Surely, he can't be the only person in the country or even the village to have no friends. Sure, the loneliness at times got suffocating and crippling, but it wasn't the end of the world. Did he even need friends at this point? No longer would he try to get girls like Sakura or even Hinata to like him.

If they didn't think he was good enough to be their friend, or in Hinata's case, strong enough then so be it. He wouldn't be deliberately rude to her. Neither would he go out of his way to put himself out there. Not just for Hinata. But for anyone else who was superficial enough to look only at the surface and judge him unworthy.

Examining his recent memories, Naruto realised that he had had long way to go to project complete indifference. Even though he had come to the decision a week ago when the Hokage had given him the deadline, he was having difficulty in maintaining his indifference.

He probably should not have baited Sasuke with his inability to produce Shadow Clones, or taunted Sakura about her chest, but his teammates hypocrisy was getting on his nerves. Why should he waste his time putting in effort for this illusion of teamwork, for the team clearly had none?

However, there was a pang of hurt in his stomach as he had decided that. Like he had lost a part of something which confused Naruto more than anything.

True he had tried to understand his teammates when the cell had been formed. He really did. It wasn't his fault that they just wouldn't give him a chance. Okay, it might have been a little bit his fault that Sakura was so hostile towards him. Pestering her about dates was probably not the best way to go about being accepted and liked by her. Neither was his stubborn denial to accept her refusals.

He supposed that was another thing he had to work on. He needed to learn how to take refusals amicably. It would have annoyed him to no end after all, if some girl had constantly pestered him about dating her.

He did regret losing his patience, not because he may hurt his teammates feelings, but because it was what he had indirectly learnt from Danzo and from Tobirama's book. The old man was as patient as a mountain. Clearly, his patience needed more work. Perhaps… perhaps meditation would work. He had heard the old man Hokage mention it once or twice.

He was just glad that now he had a way of doing multiple things at once, an unexpected benefit of the Shadow Clones he had discovered. It was exactly one week ago, the morning after his meal with the Hokage that he had found a scroll on his bed waiting for him. True, he may have made the old man the promise to give it his all, but he had no idea where to start.

The scroll, had the same handwriting as the scroll with the chakra control exercises, had only three things written on it. 'Chakra Theory', 'Jutsu Theory' and 'Hand seals'. And so, after every morning training session, he and several of his clones had spent countless hours studying up on the three basic yet frustratingly complex topics from every scroll they could gather.

'Ugh', Naruto crossed out another diagram he had drawn, trying to understand how the chakra was being rotated in the body for the transformation jutsu.

'It's no use', one clone on his left said, putting his paper to the side and taking up a fresh one.

'It's the Boar seal that's the problem', Naruto replied to his clone.

Granted, he knew next to nothing about experimenting but he had created a basic experiment methodology to understand the basis of the transformation as he was deconstructing it. As of yet, it hadn't yielded any sufficient results in the sense of actually allowing him to do the damn jutsu.

Naruto had however, gained a much greater understanding of what seals actually do to the chakra in his body. In that, the 'hand seals' topic and chakra theory go hand in hand. It was just a bummer that he had to spend a lot of time redoing the basics, when he should have been ideally using all this time to work on the physical training.

Learning a jutsu from the Hokage was a great incentive, however. And if he had to lessen the amount, he trained physically for the next three weeks, then so be it. But he would be damned if he allowed these pathetically simple jutsu to beat him.

He was under no delusion to think that he could beat anyone with his current taijutsu form – which he was beginning to suspect was designed by Mizuiki-teme to try to get him killed. But why then, hadn't Kakashi said a damn thing to him when they had sparred.

'How's it going?' Naruto asked to the clone on his left, who sat with a scroll of his own, making notes from several other scrolls on taijutsu.

'I have narrowed down to six styles that might be suitable', he replied, unrolling the scroll in his hand, and read it, eyes narrowed.

'Good', Naruto smirked, making a cross seal again. Now at least he was getting somewhere.

'You go and join the team again and get the payment,' he told the newest clone as the rest focused on their research. Why in the world he had not thought about coming to the library before. Again, his stupidity knew no bounds even a month ago.

An hour later, Naruto was sat on the ground, meditating and centring his chakra just like he had been training to for the last two weeks. This time, he wasn't only working on increasing his sensory range, but also the accuracy of it. The epilogue of Tobirama's book, no doubt added by Danzo, had recounted the last moment the Nidaime spent with his team.

During the Second Shinobi War, team Tobirama were being pursued by Kumo ninja. Tobirama had sensed that they were surrounded by no less than twenty ninjas from the Kinkaku Force. That was the technique Naruto was working on, by first centring his chakra in his stomach, then channelling into his finger and pushing it in the ground, increasing the radius of the circle.

Almost immediately, his senses sharpened greatly. It was like a sixth sense where he was hyperaware of the amount of people surrounding him. Instead of trying to focus on every single one, Naruto focused on the distance at which he could sense them.

Twenty… no thirty in the library, with ten on his floor alone. He was aware of the sweat rolling down his neck when he immediately sensed the very familiar chakra signatures coming his way. Crap!

Naruto's eyes snapped open, and it seems that his clones had sensed them too, for without his ordering them to, they hurriedly started gathering scrolls and upon scrolls and taking them back to their shelves.

'Hurry the fuck up', Naruto growled, 'They're nearly at the door.'

'Why don't you help as well', grumbled a clone, throwing him an annoyed look.

Naruto however, was busy sealing the multitude of his written notes in a storage scroll he had bought. No way was he going to allow them see what taijutsu styles he was working on.

'Three, two, one', Naruto whispered to himself and soon enough, just as reached one, the door to the library opened and he sensed the three of them step onto the floor. It may be because of his increased chakra control, or his weird sensory ability, but for the first time he was able to sense just how much chakra his sensei has.

It clearly dwarfed all of the others there were in the library currently. It seemed different than before. Like it was being held back, somehow. Like he was masking his chakra. Not at the level of Danzo, clearly since Naruto could barely sense the old creep even when sitting right opposite him.

It wasn't the three that annoyed him however. His sudden drop in mood was the result of sensing someone else. There, hiding behind the fourth shelf on the other end of the floor. What in the world was she doing here? And why the fuck hadn't he sensed her before? Could she have been masking her chakra like baka-Kakashi as well? Or was he just too distracted?

Granted, he was busy in his studies but that was no reason to miss that Hinata Hyuga was also on this floor. What if it had been an enemy. An assassin.

'What?! Are you seeing what I'm seeing?' Sakura called out, pointing to him. 'Naruto-baka is actually in the library.'

'Hn', came Sasuke's classic reply with his eyes narrowed at Naruto.

How the hell did they even find him? He was positive none of his teammates had an ability similar to his.

'Yo', Naruto waved an unenthusiastic hand towards them as his team neared his table, not looking forward to this conversation. Kakashi's face was normal as always, but he got the distinct feeling that the jounin wasn't only annoyed, but he was actually angry.

'Would you mind explaining why you are here, Naruto', Kakashi said seriously, in no mood for his student's antics. What the blonde had pulled was enough for an official reprimand and after everything that had happened on the river cleaning mission, Kakashi had more than a half a mind to go through with it.

Naruto for his part refused to be cowed by the hypocritical jonin and waved his hand over the two scrolls on his table, without saying a word.

'I require an answer Naruto!' Kakashi said sternly. 'Sending a shadow clone to do your mission instead of your actual self is highly irresponsible.'

'Yes! Idiot!' Sakura almost yelled before remembering that she was in a library. However, it was Kakashi's serious face that stopped her. They hadn't seen their usually laid back and lazy sensei angry before but clearly it was wise not getting in his way when he was pissed off.

Naruto merely raised an eyebrow at the man, 'Did the mission fail?'

'That's not the point and you know it', Kakashi was getting really tired of Naruto's attitude. 'In a mission, you can't do that. Especially without informing your teammates. Any number of things can go wrong.'

'Really?' Naruto wasn't having it, no matter what his useless sensei said. 'And what can go wrong in a D-rank mission?'

Kakashi narrowed his lone eye, barely holding back the anger he was feeling at the blonde. Not only was the blonde refusing to listen to him, but he was undermining him in front of the other genin.

'I'm afraid I'm going to have to lodge an official complaint Naruto', silver haired jounin said annoyedly, brooking no arguments.

This caught the blonde off guard. Fuck! He hadn't expected that Kakashi would go this far. Look underneath the underneath, he reminded himself. Kakashi could be bluffing to make him falter, apologise to the other two or some such bullshit. What the hell was he going to do?

Maybe it was his inexperience at examining conflicts or maybe it was his ego, but he found himself saying, 'Go for it. Tell the old man what bad boy I am.'

It clearly came as a shock to both the sensei and the other two, just as much as Naruto himself was shocked by his clearly irritable answer. After a few moments of tense silence where Naruto refused to break eye contact, he realised that he had actually meant it.

'What the –', Sakura jaws dropped, flustered at the amount of disrespect Naruto was showing to their sensei. Never before had they seen him act in such a way.

'Che, don't be an idiot dobe!' Sasuke response further surprised Naruto. Did the teme actually care what happened to him? But too little too late, Naruto mused. He had already decided he wasn't going to be worrying about what they think of him anymore.

Kakashi's eye widened for a few tense moments, as he looked at the genin. How had things gone so wrong?

'Very well then, Naruto', Kakashi said to Naruto. 'You leave me no choice. You do realise that this can result in the Hokage pulling you off of Team 7.'

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the lazy sensei, his anger getting the better of him, 'Yeh, I do. Not like this team is any good anyway.'

'And whose fault is that Naruto-baka!' Sakura fumed, unable to believe that the boy who had always looked at their sensei like an idol was being this hard-headed. 'Just apologise and get this over with. And we can get back to…'

However, Naruto didn't let her finish. Why the fuck would he apologise, and for what?

'Apologise? What for?' Naruto snapped, ignoring the 'Shhhh' of the chunin librarian.

'Besides, this way you guys might even get someone who may actually pose a challenge to the precious Uchiha. Maybe Hinata. Hell, you can ask her right now. She's standing there right now. Either way, I'll be free of this pathetic team!'

He hadn't really meant it, to be honest. But he was too pissed off to think straight right now. At least, in Team 7 he had some semblance of acceptance.

He thought he heard an 'eep' from where the girl was standing followed the sound of several scrolls falling to the floor.

'Pathetic?!' Sakura yelled. 'Who are you calling pathetic you dobe!' She was ignored by both Kakashi and Naruto.

'Are you sure you want to do this Naruto', Kakashi looked at his stubborn genin, unable to believe that the boy was letting his ego take this further than it needed to go. Perhaps he had inherited more of his mother than Kakashi first believed. 'You're not going to be able to find any other team I assure you. And you're training will stop.'

Naruto felt his eyes starting to get wet, but he rallied. He would not back down! If his sensei can talk about getting rid of him so easily, then perhaps it was better he was off the team anyway.

One look at Sasuke showed the teme's feigned disinterest, 'Yes, I am!'

'Naruto!' Sakura clenched her fists, a sickeningly sweet smile on her face as she stepped closer to him, 'Don't take this any further than it needs to go!'

Naruto narrowed his eyes at her and growled, 'I didn't do anything wrong and….'

'Enough of this pissing contest Naruto-baka!' Sakura yelled, momentarily surprising the other members of team 7, hearing her curse for the first time. 'Just apologise and end this!'

'Oh, shut it, flatty!' Naruto snapped back. 'What does it matter to you anyway!'

'Ugh', Sasuke groaned in annoyance. The dobe just had to go there! Already they had endured the girl grumbling about Naruto insulting her chest on the way here.

He heard the sharp gasp from the pink haired teammate. 'NARUTO!' she yelled, intent of bashing his brains out, for this time and the last, making him see sense. But she hadn't expected what happened next.

Naruto had gotten really tired of Sakura treating him like her own, personal punching bag. It wasn't that her punch was too slow, but that he had gotten a little faster. He saw it coming as soon as she moved her arm. Moving to the right at the same time as he snapped his hand rightwards.

Crack!

There were a few sharp gasps in the room that Naruto didn't pay attention to.

Sakura's face whipped to the right, her eyes wide and shocked, in disbelief. As were the others who knew of Naruto's massive crush on the pinky.

None of them were able to able to believe that Naruto had just backhand slapped his own teammate and crush. Or rather, former crush.

It wasn't Kakashi's stern, 'Naruto, enough!' that surprised him. It was Sasuke standing in front of a shocked Sakura, who was still holding the left side of her face.

'What? You can give it but you can't take it?' Naruto narrowed his eyes at the girl, squashing down at the immense amount of guilt clawing its way up his chest at the sight of Sakura's tears.

A memory flashed by in his head. One of a much younger Sakura in the playground being bullied by some kids making fun of her forehead and pink hair, her green eyes filled with unshed tears. Until Naruto got there that is.

Shaking his head, he was brought back to the present by Kakashi's stern admonition and demands to apologise to the girl.

Naruto's head whipped to the left, his focus elsewhere, paying no attention to his sensei. He vaguely registered a wide eyed Hinata staring at them from where she had decided to come out of hiding, her hand clutching the jacket in front of her chest.

What was that?!

This much larger chakra signature making its way to the Hokage tower! That made sense that he was able to sense it, since the library was right next to the Hokage tower. Who the hell was that? It was safe to say he had never felt a chakra signature like the one he was currently feeling. It was much greater than he had felt of the ninja in the village, save the Hokage.

Naruto closed his eyes, stretching out his senses as far as they can get and tried to eliminate the ones in the library and only focus on the ones he wanted. The one with the weird, strong signature wasn't alone. It was with ten others, roughly of the same unremarkable size, though he got the feeling that they had some training in chakra. There were two others, genin rank, he would say.

Was it an infiltration? An invasion? Surely, they couldn't have just waltzed right in without someone noticing.

His eyes snapped open by Kakashi's voice, 'Oh yeh, I'm sorry', Naruto said half-heartedly turning around to gather his things, having already decided to get out of here so he could investigate this new development.

Before Kakashi or Sakura could respond however, they were surprised yet again by an ANBU suddenly appearing in front of them.

'Kakashi-san', she greeted the jonin.

Naruto nearly jumped a foot in the air, as he whirled around, look at the ANBU. Where the hell did she come from? He hadn't even sensed a smidgen of anything from her. Was he just so distracted today that first he didn't sense Hinata and now this person?

'Neko', Kakashi greeted her, almost casually. So, he knew her?

Even in his annoyed state, Naruto marvelled at the sensei's ability to just turn emotional states in an instant, or make it seem like he had. Not two seconds ago, he was annoyed. Now he seems as if talking about the weather.

It seemed as if he wasn't the only one who had missed her approach. Sasuke's annoyed face – well, narrowing of his left eye – told him he hadn't either. That made Naruto feel a little better honestly. At least, there was one thing the teme was good for.

'The Hokage has summoned team 7 and 8', she said in a no-nonsense fashion so unlike his sensei. Naruto was beginning to like her, even if he didn't like the way her masked face lingered on his for a little while longer than the rest. Did the old man want them for another mission? Or was it to hunt down these infiltrators?

That explains the inclusion of team eight. They were training to be trackers after all.

He turned to where he had seen Hinata, seeing the girl watching the scene with wide, pale lavender eyes. 'Might as well go together, Hinata.'

There was a slight 'eep' from the girl, a nod and she hurried to join them. While he was annoyed by the girl, it had bene two weeks since he had returned from Wave and his annoyance had died down to a mere inconvenience.

But as he had told Danzo, he wouldn't want to tip off the enemy by being uncivil and openly hostile, even if Hinata wasn't technically his enemy. He would be civil to the girl, but nothing more. But why was she so red?

'Are you okay, Hinata?' he asked the girl, who whipped her head towards him, lavender eyes wide as if she couldn't believe he had just spoken to her.

'W…what do you mean, N…Naruto-kun?' she asked, tapping her fingers together, already having turned her face towards her own feet. If this kept up, and she didn't look where she was going, she was bound to bump into a pole or something.

'You're a little red', he replied in a matter-of-fact tone.

'Y…yes, I'm fine', the girl replied, though she looked a little down.

Oh well, not his problem. He turned to study the ANBU woman who was leading them. Like all her comrades, she wore a grey flak jacket, metal arm guards and gloves.

She also carried a standard katana on her back, though in a different position he had seen others wear theirs. Instead of going from her left shoulder blade diagonally down, it went from the right. That suggested that she was perhaps a kenjutsu specialist, or maybe she had her own personalised style. Though her long purple hair covered most of the sword.

Naruto scoffed mentally. Why use a mask when she can just be identified by her hair alone. Anyone who knows this woman personally would be able to tell. He vaguely recognised the purple hair. But in his memory, the ANBU woman who had sometimes guarded him had shorter purple hair. Had she grown it out perhaps?

But it was the walk which transfixed him the most. It was measured, calculated steps, leaving no openings waist down. She walked with a deadly grace that he had seen very few others do.

And considering he had been chased by quite a few ANBU in his pranking past, he had a few of them to compare her to. As the group left the library building, Naruto didn't see the woman hidden behind the fuinjutsu bookshelf on the jounin floor watching him like a snake does its prey.

Hinata for her part was more shocked than anything. It had been a week since her father had dropped the veritable bomb of her betrothal on her. It had been a week since she had shouted at her father, and her clan elders. It had been a week since she had been punished. Her father's Jyuken was as fast as it was painful.

It had been a week, and still she hadn't come any closer to accepting the fact that she may very well may not be a ninja in six months' time. That she may already be the property of someone else. How could her father do this to her? Did he hate her so much? Did he hate her mother so much for leaving him?

She knew, even if Hiashi hadn't said it, that she reminded him of her. Didn't he use to love her? Why then sentence her daughter to such a fate? Her heart was in tatters, and the only thought she had was perhaps…. Just maybe… there was a chance.

She hadn't even told Kurenai-sensei yet. She knew how angry her sensei would get and that wouldn't help things much. She already had an idea that her sensei didn't much like her father.

The only one she had wanted to see was Naruto-kun. That perhaps he would understand. They had talked two weeks ago before she screwed it up. Perhaps he would agree to be friends again.

However, she hadn't seen him since her father's ultimatum and it was only by chance that she had spotted him today, walking into the library. Or more like, stumbling into it.

Her first thought was to rush towards him, offer him any assistance she could. He was clearly injured. His muscles could barely hold his weight. Just what kind of training was Naruto-kun doing to be unable to walk properly.

Just one look from her Byakugan had shown her what she had suspected earlier. He was wearing a lot of weights, strapped to him under his jumper. But what was he doing in a library? The Naruto she knew hated any and everything that had anything to do with books. He much preferred action.

Hinata didn't think she would be caught. Besides she was going to research some ingredients for a new salve she wanted to make. To take her mind off of… everything really. How long had he known she was there?

Oh no! Did he think she was spying on him again? He was clearly in a very bad mood. She had clearly chosen a very bad time to sate her curiosity.

Hinata had felt Sakura-san was very harsh every time she hit Naruto-kun so hard. Clearly something had changed between them. Naruto-kun had had a crush on the beautiful pink haired kunoichi for four years now and he had never retaliated to her punches even once, as unfair and painful they looked. So why now? Not that she thought he was wrong to do.

She might be a pitiful Hyuga, but she was a Hyuga nonetheless. And it was clear to her that Naruto was hurting. He was feeling guilty at hitting Sakura-san back. Even if he was trying to keep a straight face, she could tell. She could always read him. Even when he put up a ridiculously large grin for show, she could tell. It was his big, cerulean eyes. They were by far the most expressive she had seen.

Now, she walked beside him just like she had always wished. But it wasn't the same. He wasn't even aware of her. Or he was purposefully ignoring her.

Her heart was breaking inside at the loss of friendship as she cursed her stupidity. Why in the world had she been so stupid? Couldn't she do anything right? Her father was right. She was a failure. She was worthless.

She always had been worthless, right. Wasn't that why he was getting rid of her by marrying her to a civilian lord.

Just when she was spiralling down in her self-pity, as if summoned by her will to survive, a memory came bursting forth.

_A much younger Naruto thrown out of a shop, his eyes full of hurt and tears as the awful shopkeeper threw a mask at him. 'Take this demon freak!' _

'_I was just… just looking at it', the boy mumbled, looking at the cracked mask in his hands, his tears spilling onto the painted porcelain._

'_Get lost, freak', the shop keeper yelled. 'And don't enter my shop again.' _

_Naruto staggered up, 'I'll be Hokage someday! Then you'll have to respect me! Believe it!' _

YES! I will prevail! I will not fail. She still had a chance to make her father change his mind. He had said that she will be taken off the roster if she failed the chunin exam in six months. And she had given him her word that she will pass it. That she will be a chunin in six months or she will die trying!

And she never goes back on her word. It was her nindo, her ninja way.

I will make Naruto-kun proud. Hinata motivated herself, taking a surreptitious look at the boy beside her but his focus was on the ANBU lady. More on a specific part of the woman than the whole person.

A blush crept up her cheeks as she watched Naruto-kun look at the lady's behind. Granted, it was quite shapely but she hadn't thought Naruto-kun was that sort of boy. But then again, from his comment to Sakura-san, it was safe to say he didn't like small chests. Did he like shapely butts too? She didn't think he was so superficial.

Hinata, as subtly as she could, felt her own behind. Granted, she was still a developing thirteen-year-old girl but she thought it was alright. Maybe… maybe Naruto-kun will like hers too…

Her eyes widened as she realised the direction her thoughts had taken. And then darkness consumed her, vaguely registering Naruto's shocked voice calling her name.


	14. Chapter 14

'Hinata! Oi, Hinata!' Naruto called, waving his hand in front of the fainted girl. Out of nowhere she had fallen down, out cold, interrupting his observation of the ANBU's toned and shapely legs.

The other four turned around seeing the commotion.

'Che. Dobe, what did you do?' Sasuke asked, amused smirk plastered on his face as he watched the blonde check the Hyuga's head for a fever. He was a right idiot.

Naruto whipped his head around to look at the teme, 'What… I didn't do anything teme! She just fainted out of nowhere!' Shaking his head, he nudged the girl lightly. 'Oye, Hinata. Wake up.'

This girl seriously needed a doctor. This fainting habit can't be good for her. Honestly. This was the fourth time he had seen her do so.

'Hmm', the ANBU sighed. 'Either wake her up or carry her. We mustn't be late', she said walking towards the downed girl and the kneeling genin.

'I know', Naruto replied, not particularly liking the idea of having to carry the girl. Just when he was about to go and get some water to splash on her face, he sensed the arrival of the rest of team eight. Or more like, he smelled _him_.

'Hinata?' came Kurenai-sensei's concerned voice as she drew near.

Naruto was just about to answer her when he was almost bawled over by the barking Akamaru and the mutt.

'Oi! What did you do to her, dead-last?', Kiba hurried over to Hinata and attempted to snatch the girl from him.

Naruto let her go without a fight, 'I didn't do anything, you mutt', looking over to Kurenai. The last thing he needed was a fainting spy and a jonin on his case.

Kurenai nodded, seeing as the other two jonin weren't concerned, 'I know, Uzumaki-san. It's fine. She'll be okay.' With that, the sensei of team eight picked up the still unconscious genin and together they made their way towards the Hokage Tower.

'Boys', Sakura muttered under her breath, seeing Naruto and Kiba glaring at each other from the corner of her eyes. Seriously, why did they have to have a pissing contest at every available opportunity. So stupid. She glanced at the dobe sideways. At least Naruto was acting like himself again… somewhat.

Come to think of it, he hadn't asked her out in nearly three weeks now. She had suspected it was just to make her jealous or some hair-brained scheme of the idiot to make her accept him when he did ask, but it seems he really was serious this time. Did he really not have a crush on her anymore?

'_Well, so what if he doesn't',_ Sakura assured herself confidently. _'Now he'll stop coming between me and Sasuke-kun.'_

She was sure now Sasuke would go out with her. Why else would he then protect her from the baka, if he didn't have feelings for her. That re-motivated her to ask him out soon.

'_Hinata can finally take him off my hands',_ she mused. Why then, did she have a feeling of loss in her chest? She hadn't wanted him when the baka asked her out the first time four years ago, and then everyday since then. She still didn't want him.

Why then, did she want to pull the baka away from the passed out Hyuga.

If Naruto had been actively kneading chakra or paying attention, not only would he have realised they were heading in the direction of the signatures he had sensed before, but that they were being followed, by a certain snake. Or he would have realised Sakura's saddened eyes on him.

They passed the security guards at the bottom of the tower without any hassle or checks. It seems they all knew they had been summoned before.

'Samurai', he noticed the armoured guards, and said guards immediately straightened further, their grips on their katanas tightening slightly.

'Strange', Shino added. 'To my knowledge only Daimyo's and other VIP lords keep samurai as guards these days.'

Naruto nodded; he had read the same. But to this day, he had never actually seen a samurai before. Especially in a ninja village. Something was definitely going on here. Five of the samurai were at the entrance, meaning the rest of them must be upstairs. It was safe to say that they weren't any infiltrators like he had been thinking earlier.

That only made him more curious? Who could the old man be meeting with?

'They're not from Fire Country', Kurenai-sensei informed the group as they entered the building. Seeing the genins' inquisitive looks, the raven-haired beauty elaborated, 'If they were, they would have an emblem of Fire Country on their armours.'

'That means Asuma-san was…?', Shino looked to his sensei for confirmation.

Naruto vaguely remembered Ino complaining how lazy her own sensei was. The sensei of team 10 had served the Fire Daimyo directly? Interesting. That means he must be powerful. Perhaps he could help Naruto like Guy was assisting him.

Before he could contemplate what that meant about Asuma's skills or how he would go about asking him, they crossed the Mission department and the answer hit him like a tonne of bricks falling on his head!

Oh Kami! That's what he meant! What a cryptic, moronic old bastard! Why couldn't Danzo have just told him straight up instead of telling him riddles.

'_If you want to find a sensei, go to the Hokage Tower.'_

Che. How the hell was he supposed to understand something like that. He wouldn't have wasted a week trying to get baka-Kakashi to try to spar with him or teach him more than just the basics. He mentally made a note to come back to department and find out how it works after they were done here. Hopefully, the old man wasn't sending them on a mission today.

'Ugh. How can I be so stupid!' Naruto grumbled to himself, resisting the urge to slap himself up the head. This was probably one time where he did deserve one of Sakura's classic punches. Again, guilt stabbed at his heart but he squashed it down ruthlessly. She had deserved it.

'Haha', Kiba chuckled looking at Naruto. 'That's cuz you are idiot, moron!' resulting in Kurenai admonishing him with a stern, 'Kiba!'

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the mutt-like-ninja, 'Piss off.' He was in no mood to take his bullshit, not when he had so many things on his mind. He shook his head in realisation.

He should have left a few shadow clones back at the library to continue researching. Even if he was improving mentally, he still needed to start thinking ahead more. This was just another classic example.

'So, dobe. Have you gotten any stronger since Wave?', Kiba asked him with a cocky grin on his face.

Naruto at once replied, 'You bet. I've gotten loads stronger!' Okay, may be that was a bit of an exaggeration but Tobirama did say that if you were weak, show you're strong and vice versa. It might have even worked if Sasuke hadn't snorted as if he had a pebble stuck in his duck-nose.

Kiba burst out laughing, 'Yeh. That'll be the day when hell freezes over.'

Naruto resisted the urge to punch the arrogant bastard into next week. He knew Kiba was referring to the beating he took from Sasuke.

'Go fuck a dog!', Naruto flipped him off, earning a glare from Kakashi.

'Why you….!' Kiba cracked him knuckles and would have lunged at him if he hadn't been pulled back by Shino.

'K…Kiba-kun… Don't be m…mean', both Naruto and Kiba turned around to see a light-red faced Hinata pushing her fingers together, looking at Kiba, studiously avoiding Naruto's eyes.

'Oh, you're awake', Naruto said. 'You really need to go to a doctor or something, Hinata.'

'I'm fine, N…Naruto-kun', Hinata replied but her almost whisper was drowned out by Kiba.

'What? She's absolutely fine!' Kiba hollered at him.

'Kiba-kun…'

'Enough!' came the ANBU's stern feminine voice, 'We're here. Behave yourselves. We have visitors.'

Naruto couldn't tell because of the mask but he got the feeling that they had really annoyed the woman. Was she glaring at them?

'She's right', Kakashi added. 'This is the reputation of Konoha on the line.'

'What?' was Kiba's eloquent reply before he wisely shut up seeing his sensei's glare. Naruto however, wasn't paying attention to the scene behind him.

That was it. He could almost taste the chakra; the person was so close. Who was the person in the room with the old man?

Neko knocked on the door and the old man answered, 'Come in.'

Naruto knew just from the sound of his voice that this was no ordinary occasion. This was serious. The old man rarely sounded so cold and business like, even when talking to his own shinobi.

'Who do you think's in there?' Kiba whispered to Shino as they all entered after Kakashi and Kurenai. Naruto didn't hear Shino's reply for he was suddenly standing in the old man's office which was filled up more than he could ever remember it being.

'Ah good, you're here', the old man said, watching the two teams file in.

On each side of the Hokage, stood two ANBU, and he could sense there were two more hidden somewhere else, though he couldn't pinpoint where they were. Neko stood at attention at the back of the room.

The tension was so thick in the room that he could almost taste it. There were five other samurai in the room, who were guarding a young woman sitting in front of the Hokage's desk with her back ramrod straight. So, this was the VIP.

His attention however was quickly focused on the other large source of chakra in the room. Vaguely, he registered sensing Kiba's shock and might have also heard his jaw drop. What a pervert!

For the woman was perhaps the most beautiful he had ever seen, hands down. And given he had already met Kurenai, that was saying something. She was a tall slender woman, with green eyes and knee length auburn hair, with four bangs on her face. Two shorter bangs covered the left side of her face and one of her hauntingly green eyes, which observed them critically.

Naruto made sure his mouth was firmly shut, and he looked nowhere near her sizeable chest, which was only covered on the underside of her breasts by her blue dress.

Where the hell does she keep her weapons? Her dress covered a skirt, and fishnet leggings but he could see no holster for kunai or shuriken.

'Teams seven and eight reporting, Hokage-sama', Kakashi-sensei said seriously. Naruto had to hand it to the man. He might be a lazy ass bastard but no one could argue he wasn't a capable ninja.

Naruto could almost see the gears turning in his sensei's head, assessing the newcomers as potential enemies. Much like he himself was doing.

'Ah, Kakashi, Kurenai. This is the daughter of the Water Daimyo, Princess Eboshi Takigawa', the Hokage nodded towards the woman sitting directly opposite him, and only barely turned to look at the two jounin.

Wait, what?! Water Daimyo? Wasn't that country Kiri was in? Naruto's eyes shot to the headbands of her ninja and undoubtedly, it was the same as Zabuza's.

Both Kurenai and Kakashi bowed to her, prompting the rest of them to do so as well. If anyone saw Naruto's awkward bow, they certainly didn't say anything, for which he was grateful. For once Kiba kept his infernal mouth shut.

The Princess, who looked no older than twenty but otherwise unremarkable in looks, motioned towards her ninja. 'This is Mei Terumi-san, jonin of Kirigakure and her genin.'

The beautiful woman, Mei, was surveying each member of the group, sizing them up no doubt, making Naruto more uncomfortable by the minute. There was something very eerily familiar between her and the way Zabuza looked at them.

Naruto didn't knead chakra in this room, lest it was taken it as an attack. But even without that, he could clearly sense the woman's chakra and it confused him to no end. How come he could get a vague feeling of fire, rock and water from her? No, it wasn't that, he corrected himself.

It was some weird combination. Regardless of what her chakra felt like, Naruto knew she was a dangerous kunoichi. Plain and simple. The calculating look in her eyes, like she was a veteran of wars that he couldn't even imagine told him that much. He knew that if it came to head, this woman could easily defeat Kurenai-sensei, strength wise if not in skill.

Why was she fixating on Kakashi-sensei though? It didn't look like she meant him harm but her glances to Kurenai-sensei weren't friendly by any means, making Naruto even more suspicious of her.

Naruto studiously avoided looking at the girl beside the beautiful woman, who kept glaring at him for some reason. He didn't know what he thought was weirder. The fact that this teenage girl, who couldn't be more than a couple of years older than him had white hair, or the two red dots on her forehead.

Or the weird bone-y feeling he got from her. The last couldn't be right. He must have studied more than he thought, for he was thinking stupid things. What had he ever done to her? She could hardly know him. Why then did she glare at him like Konoha villagers did?

While the boy beside her, dressed in light blue looked older than the girl, he seemed almost… scared, he thought. No, not scared. But unsure. Uncertain. In complete contrast to his younger teammate. Said boy also had a slightly longer than normal sword on his back.

Naruto was by no means an expert on weapons, like he heard from Lee that his teammate was, but surely normal katanas weren't almost down to a person's knees. Sasuke too had taken note of that fact with his shrewd eyes, Naruto could see.

With that observation, he turned his attention his back to the talking adults.

'These are the teams who battled your rogue shinobi', the Hokage said, 'As you have requested.'

Naruto narrowed his eyes. This was about Zabuza and Haku? Did they know that he hid… No. They couldn't. Could they? Not even Kakashi knew it.

The Princess nodded and said, 'I'm grateful, Hokage-dono', taking the two scrolls Mei handed to her.

The Princess turned towards them, 'My father, the Daimyo would like to thank you and Konoha for killing the criminals Zabuza and Haku. You may or may not know, Zabuza tried to assassinate my father but failed in his attempt.'

Team 7 already knew of this since Kakashi had explained it to them on the mission to Wave but why was she here?

His question was answered as the Princess extended the two scrolls over to Kakashi, 'Please accept this token of our gratitude. In this are the bounties for both Zabuza and Haku, paid for by the Mizukage and the Daimyo himself.'

WHAT?! Naruto's eyes saw red as he clenched his fists! The nerve of this woman! So, these were the supporters of that monster Yagura and they thought they could just be bought!

Well, they should think again. Just when he was about to object taking the bounties, baka-Kakashi accepted it gratefully, and with a 'thank you' no less.

Naruto ignored the 'sweet' from Kiba behind him as he glared at his sensei.

No, he would not stand for this insult to Haku! 'Kakashi-sensei! Don't! You can't accept this….', he paused trying to think up a suitably offensive word. 'Blood money!'

Everyone's eyes snapped towards him in surprise. Not just anyone would dare to object to a gift from a Daimyo, even if said Daimyo wasn't their own leader.

'Naruto, stand down!'

Naruto's breath heaved; his body subconsciously preparing itself for battle, aware of the Hokage's stern gaze and the visitors incredulous looks on him.

Yet he carried on, 'No! Zabuza and Haku fought for Kiri! They gave their lives for Kiri and these ungrateful... You can't accept this insult to their memory!'

'Enough, Naruto!' Kakashi reprimanded his genin who was staring at the Princess with those hateful eyes. This could quickly dissolve into an international scandal if the idiot didn't get himself under control and if the Princess took this as an insult, which it very clearly was.

Harui looked on in shock at the scene unfolding her before her. She had felt the group approaching the Hokage's office and was sure that the boy Kiri hunter-nins had talked about would be a shinobi. She was positive that they would be mistaken. Colour her surprised when it turns out that she was the one who was mistaken.

This idiot, who had the gall to wear that awful bright orange jumpsuit, one who yells about naïve ideals is no shinobi. He's a moron.

'No, Kakashi-sensei. We aren't some mercenary bounty hunters to take money for taking lives', the idiot went on to say. Didn't he know that's what all ninja do?

It was in that moment she understood that the orange idiot wasn't the one who defeated Haku. After all, how could he have done? She didn't sense anything special from him. The orange idiot's chakra, while abundant, wasn't trained at all. It was a chaotic mess. No, it must have been the Uchiha, who even now looked annoyed at his teammate, along with the pink haired girl.

Wait, pink! Seriously! Did Konoha have any decent genin at all? Out of the collected ensemble, only the guy with the coat and the sunglasses looked like he was a ninja. The boy with the dog on his head, felt like he could fight. But then again, anyone who uses the assistance of a dog on a regular basis, how powerful can they really be.

There wasn't even any point wondering about the fidgeting girl beside him, wearing that bulgy overlarge jacket, pushing her fingers together nervously.

'N…Naruto-kun', the timid girl behind the idiot said, lightly pulling on his jumper. 'I…I think they get it.'

What an idiotic girl. Did she really think the loudmouth moron would listen to such a weak request, even though he didn't listen to his own sensei?

However, Harui was once again surprised when she saw the boy's angry blue eyes, soften just a little and the idiot relented, albeit reluctantly. Interesting… He didn't look like he had any emotional attachment to the girl. In fact, the momentary confused look he sent her way told her they didn't know each other well. Then why did he listen to her? Why then did she call him -kun?

'Naruto', Kakashi was thankful to whatever the Hyuga girl did to get his brash genin to stop talking. Even if she was a timid little soul, being Hiashi's daughter, she was undoubtedly aware of the importance of political allies, especially once has important as a Daimyo's daughter. Something that Naruto would never be able to understand, what with his idealistic, narrow world view.

For whatever reason they were here, Konoha couldn't afford to make an enemy out of them. At least, not to their face. But the genin probably had no idea of that. Other than Hinata and Shino perhaps. Time for some damage control now.

'The bounty for both Zabuza and Haku is going to be shared between all eight people who were on the mission', Kakashi informed him. 'It's not fair if you keep what is rightfully theirs from them.'

What?! Rightfully theirs? How could he even say that? But it was clear to Naruto that he would not get any support in this room.

'Fine', Naruto spat, glaring from his sensei to the Kiri nin who had the gall to insult Haku and Zabuza. 'They can take it if they want to but not me. Donate my share to orphans or something.'

'M…Mine too. I agree with N…Naruto-kun', Hinata added quietly. Naruto's anger abated just a little, if only because he was more shocked than anything. Since when did Hinata ever side with him? Didn't she deliberately oppose him last time, in favour of the mutt?

Is it true? Could she actually think he was right and not be making fun of him? He turned a little but stopped short, his breath hitching in his throat, pleasantly surprised to see the sincere look in her eyes. But that wasn't all, he could see the determination in them.

Could it true that someone, anyone wanted to stand with him for the first time since he could remember and not against him? A warm feeling blossomed in his chest at seeing the soft lavender eyes, but he squashed just quickly, remembering that she was the one who was spying on him a week ago, and today as well.

He was about to turn away but then he remembered, he couldn't show disrespect to the Hokage in front of outsiders. Even if the old man was going senile.

'Is that all, Hokage-sama?' he asked, surprising all those who knew him. They had never, ever seen him add a respectful honorific to anyone's name or title. It was common knowledge in Konoha that the demon brat cared not a whit about formality or anyone's status.

He neither saw nor cared what they thought of him at this point. As such, he missed the look of slight pride in Hinata's eyes before she looked down on the floor. It, however, did not go amiss by any of the jonin present.

Naruto was however, surprised to see that there wasn't a look of annoyance or anger in the old man's eyes. But before he could figure out the odd look in the Hokage's eyes, it was gone replaced by a blank look.

'Yes, you may go', Hiruzen said, hoping that the Kiri Jonin did not bring up another sore point of contention. They were here for another week or so. There was no reason to bring up all the problems right this minute.

He had heard of Mei Terumi of course. Given that she had tried to melt his student's balls for peeping on her made it kind of hard not be aware of her. But that was quite a while ago. This was a good opportunity to actually learn what the hell was going on inside Kiri. The village was so closed off, second only to Rain, especially after the Second Ninja War that it made the other Great Villages anxious.

Rumours stated that Yagura's forces were not fairing well. Or at least, they hadn't been until the Daimyo decided to lend the young lunatic a hand. And now, the daughter of said Daimyo was here. Interesting indeed. He knew without a shadow of a doubt that what his advisors would say.

But that fact was, siding with the Daimyo and the Mizukage just didn't sit right with him. Not to mention, he would never be able to look Naruto in the eye if he did that.

Granted, a village leader should not base his decision on the opinions of a genin, but in this case, Naruto's feelings on the Mizukage were spot on.

He knew he should not show favouritism to any of his genin, but he couldn't help feeling pride at Naruto's strong ethics. At least in this, he hadn't failed him. It did his old heart good, seeing the pure hearted boy refuse to accept money in return for the enemies he had killed.

It spoke a lot of a person, especially in this world so full of hatred that he was not willing to take advantage of his enemies even after death. It showed a certain honour that many lacked.

'_If only you were here to see the boy, Shodaime. You would have been proud.' _

The boy probably didn't know but he had inherited the purest form of the Will of Fire. And even his difficult childhood hadn't succeeded in driving it away.

One look at Kakashi reminded him that he still needed to talk to the jonin about his favouritism. There was no way in hell was he going to allow something as trivial as that to drive the Will of Fire from Naruto.

'I apologise for the outburst of my genin, Eboshi-sama', Kakashi said, just as Naruto walked out, not missing the fact that the Kiri jonin's unusual interest in him ever since he lost his cool. No, that wouldn't do at all. However, what confused him was the calculating look in the Princess' eyes.

'No indeed', the Princess replied, 'I quite understand. It is… refreshing to see a shinobi hold himself to expectations of honour.'

Even more concerning was the unusual gleam in Mei's eyes following Naruto. What did the woman want from his student? Did she suspect… no, she couldn't. How would she even begin to look for it. But then, if she didn't suspect what he thought she did, then why was she interested in him?

'Teams seven and eight dismissed. Kakashi, Kurenai, stay', the Hokage ordered, and offered them a seat, which both of them declined. Smart move, even if a little unnecessary. They were quite safe from any attack, given that two ANBU squads were nearby.

'Now, shall we get to business', the Hokage said, looking at the Princess who also looked like she was a no-nonsense kind of person and appreciated a directed approach.

'Indeed', the Princess replied. 'As you probably know, I am here to improve Water Country's diplomatic relations with Fire Country. My father tells me that the Daimyo holds you in high regard, Hokage-dono.'

Hiruzen nodded, 'He may do, but that does not follow that he will listen to whatever I say', he said sagely.

Now here starts the political games that he so excelled at and his sensei had lacked in. Tobirama was thoroughly military minded and made many enemies and mistakes in his tenure as Hokage. Some of which, Hiruzen had corrected, and some were irreversible. The Uchiha massacre was one such result of his sensei's harsh policies.

But with any luck, he would start a negotiation which benefitted Konoha's economy more. His ninjutsu repertoire wasn't the only reason they called him the Professor. Little did he know what the Princess was planning, especially in regards to a certain blonde genin.


	15. Chapter 15

Hinata had wanted to go after the hurting and angry blonde the moment he had left the Hokage's office, but again, her fears kept her back. Fear of what he would say, of whether he would forgive her for her careless comments or her spying.

Or her greatest fear, whether he would think she was just another fangirl, just like Sasuke's many fans who followed him.

No! That would be an insult Hinata didn't think she could handle. Those girls were neither strong nor had any self-respect. While Hinata may not be the former, she still had the latter. No matter if Naruto was so kind that he would never say something like that to her, but just thinking it about her would probably break her.

'You coming, Hinata-chan?' Hinata stopped fiddling with her jacket momentarily to see Kiba looking at her expectantly. They had just been dismissed from the Hokage's office and had descended the tower.

'Umm… I…', she blushed, realising she had spaced out again.

Thankfully, Kiba didn't say anything about it, as he repeated himself, 'Me and Shino are going to spar for a bit. You coming?'

Hinata shook her head, 'No, Kiba-kun. I have something I need to do', she looked towards where the blonde genin was sitting.

Kiba shook his head, 'You're better off leaving that idiot alone for now, trust me', narrowing his eyes at Naruto.

'W…Why?' she asked, surprised to see her teammate ask her to stay awake from Naruto as well, like Ko did many times before.

What had poor Naruto-kun ever done to deserve this?

'I agree, Hinata-san', Hinata turned wide eyed to look at Shino, disappointed. Of all people, she thought Shino would understand. People clearly disliked Naruto-kun for something that was beyond his control. She thought Shino would understand how that felt, given that Aburames also experienced a similar prejudice to some extent, on account of their bugs.

Why was everyone suddenly against her talking to Naruto. Before she could ask that, Shino answered.

'I do not have anything against Naruto-san', Shino clarified politely. 'But it is only logical that his sensei would seek to reprimand him after Naruto-san's showing earlier. It would be better if you were not present for that.'

Hinata hated to admit, but Shino was probably right. It didn't matter if Naruto-kun had spoken for something he believed in. What mattered was that he had talked back to and against a Daimyo's daughter, and against his own sensei.

That alone justified an official reprimanded. But she didn't think poor Naruto-kun was aware of that.

'He was only trying to defend Haku-san', Hinata mumbled, trying to make her teammates see that she didn't think it was that bad.

However, she was most surprised by the almost disappointed look in Shino's eyes, making her confidence plummet even more. 'Yes, but he should not have spoken with such disrespect to Princess-sama. It could have bad consequences for Konoha if she took offense.'

She couldn't fault Shino cautioning her for that reason, however, she was determined that she would not leave him hurting, alone. She was trying to change and sometime soon she would have to face her fear of rejection. Why not start now? After all, Naruto-kun never backed down from a challenge.

Hinata only nodded and Shino understood her unspoken thanks as he dragged a protesting Kiba away, thankfully not saying anything else.

And as she stood there, looking at the frowning boy, wavering in her place, she wondered what she could ever say to him for the loss of his friend. But she knew, no matter what happens, she would be there for him. And that meant starting now.

Gathering every ounce of courage, she could muster, she took one step towards a conversation that would change her. And then one more after that.

Naruto sat in front of the Missions Department, not because he didn't go in, but because he had been sent out. Or more like, kicked out, if the expression of the female chunin was anything to go by. He had planned to do it later, when he couldn't be seen anyone, but Kakashi had just proven himself to be utterly incapable of even siding with him.

So, he sat there, refusing to move until someone came outside and explained the procedure to him, but also wishing that team eight would leave. He wasn't actively gathering chakra, but even without trying, he could sense they were there, near the entrance.

He simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief, and sigh of frustration when two of the members left yet his spy remained. He honestly didn't know what he felt about her now. Half an hour ago, he had been annoyed at her, and mildly offended at her spying and her earlier comments.

Now, he was just confused.

'N…Naruto-kun', Hinata sat down beside him and mumbled. 'W…what are you -'

'Are you gonna tell me to leave as well', Naruto spat, annoyedly. He would have said much more if the horrified look on Hinata's face hadn't stopped him short.

Hinata shook her head, eyes wide. How could he think something like that about her?

'N…No, Naruto-kun', Hinata tried to explain herself. 'I… I was w…worried about you. I'm… I'm s…sorry.'

Anything that he would have said went right out of his head at the mumbled apology, shocked, surprised and even more confused than before.

No one apart from Ayame and Teuchi had ever worried about him. Not even his teammates or his sensei. The warmth in his chest from earlier, the ember threatened to turn into a flicker of flame.

'I…'

The girl was still looking at the floor instead of him, so he couldn't see what her eyes were saying. Not that he was very efficient in reading them but he was always able to tell when someone meant him harm, or were fooling him, through their eyes.

'Thank you, Hinata', Naruto replied, and smiled at her sudden shock. Maybe… just maybe she could understand him… maybe. But then he remembered all that she had done and that kindled hope flickered. 'But I'm fine, really.'

He had really wanted to ask her the question burning in his mind, the suspense threatening to consume him. But he kept his mouth shut, counselling himself patience. If she was genuine, then surely it would show itself.

A few minutes of silence followed Hinata didn't know what to say, but she could tell he wasn't really okay. Maybe he was trying to convince himself with the statement. Maybe… maybe he would tell her if he was more comfortable. So, she changed the subject, trying to put his mind more at ease.

'Are… are you here for a mission, Naruto-kun', she asked, wincing at her curiosity when Naruto's narrowed his whipped to her.

'What?' Naruto squinted in confusion, something which Hinata personally thought was quite cute, and immediately reddened at the thought, though the smile was harder to hide.

'At the missions department', she clarified, thankful that her blush hadn't been so strong as to make her faint. She really needed to work on that.

'Oh right', Naruto mumbled, and threw a dirty look towards the chunin sitting on the desk. Why must she be so difficult. But why was Hinata asking? Was this another one of her techniques to spy on him? He didn't think so. If it was, she wouldn't be smiling like that. Even if she wasn't particularly strong, it didn't mean she wasn't smart.

But then again, she had already seen his Shadow Clone jutsu in the fight on the bridge and his taijutsu against Sasuke. She could hardly do anything else when he wasn't even getting anywhere in his quest to get a new sensei.

Deciding it would do no harm, or that if it did get out, he would know who spread it.

'I want to…'

Hinata could see the suspicion in his eyes, and while it saddened her, she knew she had only herself to blame. But he looked like he was struggling with whatever he was sitting here for. Perhaps if she helped him with it, he wouldn't be so cautious around her.

Though, he might of course take offense if she offered him her help. After all, what could a useless kunoichi like her even do to help him.

No, no! Stupid Hinata! If she didn't try, she would never improve!

'Ano… Maybe… maybe I could help', she muttered lightly.

Naruto eye's widened as he looked at her, surprised yet again. She would help him? Even when her team very clearly wanted her to stay away from him? How many times could he be surprised by this girl, he wondered. He was the resident prankster of Konoha. He was the one who was supposed to be surprising people, not the other way around.

'I need to hire someone for a mission', he finally admitted, begrudgingly, but the sincere look in her eyes made him drop his shields a little. 'But that bitch wouldn't give me the paperwork for it!' he threw a glare towards the woman.

Hinata gasped at the language and shocked at the sudden vehemence Naruto was showing. It wasn't that she wasn't used to such language by now. Even if she wouldn't dare utter such words, she was teammates with Kiba and the boy sometimes swore like a sailor on shore leave.

But why would the… woman not give Naruto-kun the paperwork. Missions brought improved the village's economy, and it was up to the Hokage and sometimes the council whether to accept a mission or not. It was certainly not up to any chunin on mission handling duty.

She knew because it was part of her education as heiress, which was of course halted now because she showed no promise as one. But that didn't mean that she had forgotten her lessons. But before she could help him, she needed to know what he was hiring a ninja for. Perhaps he needed help with a D-rank chore. If she, she could help him and he would save that money.

'Um… Naruto-kun… what are you hiring for?' she asked hesitantly, hoping he didn't see this as her butting into his business.

The suspicious glint in his eyes returned and she hurried to elaborate. 'I… I mean I could help you with it.'

She was momentarily surprised by Naruto-kun's sad smile. She had seen it before and didn't like it one bit.

'You can't', he replied, but missed the look of hurt on her face.

'Oh… Of course, … I didn't mean to butt in…' Hinata wiggled her fingers, willing her eyes not to get wet. Even Naruto-kun thought she was no good. How could she have hoped otherwise. Of course, he did.

Her head snapped up in surprise when he continued.

'I need someone to train me.'

'Oh.' His answer lightened her mood greatly. His refusal didn't have anything to do with her weakness. She knew she could barely train herself. No way would she be able to help in someone else's training. Would this boy never cease to surprise her?

Hinata immediately realised why he even wanted to hire a tutor. Anyone who had seen Team 7 train would know it. As such, she stood up and strode straight towards the chunin sitting on the desk sorting an inordinate amount of paperwork into different piles.

She didn't pay attention to her own posture but clearly the chunin was surprised to see her standing in front of her. In that moment, she didn't look like the shy timid girl she was. She wasn't the least useful member of Team 8. She wasn't the useless Hyuga.

No, in that moment, angered by the unprovoked injustice to her Naruto-kun, she looked like the heiress of the Hyuga Clan that she was born to be. 'I require paperwork for requesting a mission.'

The chunin blinked for a few seconds before she stammered, 'Of… Of course, Hinata-sama.'

She may have denied paperwork to the demon, but even the chunin could see doing it to the heiress of the Hyuga clan would not be good for her health or her career.

'Thank you', Hinata replied to the woman, even as she resisted the urge to sigh in exasperation. She could see the woman was, if not scared, then perhaps cautious of her. If only because she was her father's daughter. She had no desire to make people afraid of her, but she couldn't deny that perhaps just this once, her clan's reputation had come in handy.

And if she needed to use it to help Naruto-kun, she would. 'Here, Naruto-kun', she handed the frankly scarily thick pad of paper to him.

Naruto was dumbfounded for a moment. It wasn't often that he was shocked into speechlessness. He knew, now more than ever, that his habit of making presumptions about people was indeed a very wrong thing to do. Maybe Hinata wasn't as bad as he thought.

After all, hadn't he learnt not to judge people by their first impressions from the whole Zabuza experience. Then why had he been so stupid to do the same with this girl. If he did that on the battlefield then surely it would get him killed.

'N…Naruto-kun', he was startled out of his reverie and slack-jawed surprise by Hinata nudging him a little on the shoulder. Apparently, he had spaced out. 'Thank you… thank you very much, Hinata. Really!'

The light in her eyes that appeared at his thanks made him more curious and frankly, a little sadly, confusingly. How could she find such a simple response enough to make her happy?

'Now all I've gotta do is this fill this out and…'

He instantly paled, having failed to realise how many papers there were in the pad she had handed to him. 'All of this, for one mission?' he asked, wanting to be clear.

'Yes, Naruto-kun. Requesting a mission is serious business and all the information is needed for the Hokage and the council to judge what rank the mission should be given. Who would be the team or ninja to assign it to? How long it should take and what pay should be asked?'

He looked at her in astonishment. Never had he thought she could know this much about something he had thought to be so trivial. In retrospect however, that was a stupid assumption to make. Of course, mission requesting would be very important. This was a ninja village after all.

Hinata blushed deeply, realising how much she had said, without being asked. Surprisingly, or perhaps she shouldn't be, Naruto didn't find it offensive or annoying, like her father or cousin did so often did. Instead, she was aware of the dangerous warmth bubbling in her chest at the gratitude in his eyes.

Naruto hated paperwork more than he had hated studying. It was one of the reasons why he never used to make any notes. Apart from the fact that he really didn't have any patience for it. But he was trying to get himself to change, to improve.

He supposed he still needed to work a lot on his patience. He could see this was important but right now, he just didn't want to read through all of it. Maybe she could give him an overview?

No! As soon as the thought had occurred, he squashed it down ruthlessly. He didn't want to be in her debt any more than he already was. She had already done a lot for him. This could be the beginning of his real improvement as a ninja and he would be damned if he didn't read through the hiring policy properly and screwed it up somehow.

And as he read through the inordinate amount of information on the papers, he realised just how much he had looked over. Indeed, it was exactly like Hinata had said. All of the questions pertained to the information which would be used to judge the rank and pay of the mission, as well as which ninjas to give the missions to.

He could only presume it was because some ninjas specialised in certain aspects and those would be taken into account when handing out missions. However, it was the last part that was troubling him honestly.

Naruto knew most of the things the papers required however, he would need to think carefully about many of the details. Such as what he needed help on, and how much to disclose. Naruto was definitely not going to give in the paperwork now. For all he knew the chunin woman would just throw it away in the bin as soon as his back was turned.

Hinata saw sadness flash through his eyes which concerned her. But not as much as the anger that replaced it. What was he angry about? The woman? Naruto-kun didn't seem like someone to hold onto a grudge. At least she hoped he wasn't. Naruto-kun wasn't anything like her cousin.

'Are… are you okay, Naruto-kun', she asked, touching his arm gently, unknowingly pulling him out of his darkening thoughts.

Naruto shook his head, as if that will get rid of his anger on the stupid villagers. 'Y…Yes. Yes, I am. Just got distracted that's all', he gave her a grin, hoping it would put her concerns to rest. As touching as it was, it was more confusing than anything else.

All he could think of was what game she was playing? No one ever worried about him. Not unless there was something in it for them. Mizuiki was one such example. A stupid one but an example nonetheless.

Hinata knew Naruto didn't like anyone pitying him, and resolved not to do so. Even if she hadn't seen him smile or laugh properly in ages, even if she knew the grin on his face was fake. Just for show perhaps. 'It's just that, y… you seemed sad?'

Naruto flinched, berating himself for letting his feelings be shown so easily. He needed to be better than that. And he was quickly becoming annoyed with the confusing feelings this conversation with Hinata was bringing up.

And so, he did what he did best when he was uncomfortable. He lashed out defensively. Perhaps not the wisest decision on his part.

'Why were you spying on me?' Naruto suddenly blurted out and surprised himself just as much as the reddening girl. It seemed that his curiosity won over his patience. He really didn't think he was important enough to warrant spying on.

Or maybe he didn't want a conversation about _feelings. _He had learnt early on, concentrating on them was bad for him and his sanity. Nothing ever good came from it, and it only served to make him even more depressed.

Shocked at the sudden change in topic and the accusation, no matter how correct, Hinata's eyes closed shut, wishing herself to have more courage.

'I…', she mumbled, gathering her courage to recite what she had rehearsed to herself in the safety of her room. She chanced looking at him, turning slightly.

And what she saw shocked her more. Rather than the anger she expected to be present in his eyes, which was ever-present in her father's and Neji's, she saw nothing but hurt. Until he looked away, hiding them from her. Her clenched in her chest, making her vow to clear this up with him right here and now. No matter what.

Try as he might to listen to Tobirama, to hide his emotions from his 'enemy', somehow this betrayal from her hurt him more than anything any other villager had ever done to him. Despite his earlier conviction of not caring what she thought of him, he couldn't shake the pang of pain in chest.

Why? Why would she do something like that? He had battled with the confusing question for a week now. He needed to know why she had turned her back on him. Was he that bad of a friend? Had he done something wrong? No, otherwise she wouldn't have helped him with obtaining the paperwork for the mission request.

Just what was this girl's deal?

Hinata shook her head, 'N…No, Naruto-kun. I…'

'You're denying it!'

Naruto's eyes narrowed in anger and his fists clenched. She was going to deny it to his face? Did she think he was that stupid, like her mutt friend likes to say? Well, she has another thing coming if she does. He would show her not to take him lightly.

Before he could give her a piece of his mind, she whipped her head to him, 'I didn't want to!', Hinata yelled at him, her eyes widening in horror at what she had done as the same time as his did.

'_Oh no! He was going to walk away now. He was going to call her a freak and insult her! And she would deserve it!'_

Why couldn't she do anything right!

'You didn't?' Naruto didn't know what to think anymore. What the hell was going on? This girl was a walking contradiction.

'_He's not going to yell at me!' _

Hinata could barely believe it. 'No, Naruto-kun. I…it was a mission.'

Naruto's eyes showed his clear confusion, his mouth opening and closing for a while before he managed out a coherent syllable, 'Wha?'

Hinata nodded, 'A mission. T…training for surveillance…'

'Of course!' Naruto slapped himself up the head, shocking Hinata who watched the blonde with wide eyes.

'Stupid, stupid', Naruto muttered to himself, continuing to hit his head. 'Naruto-baka!' he repeated Sakura's often spoken words.

'Ummm… Naruto-kun', Hinata said concernedly, putting her hand on his arm to stop the boy's attacks on himself. 'What are you…?'

Of course, it was training. How could he be such an idiot! Their team was set up to be a tracking team. All three had some ability for it. Why hadn't he thought of that before.

'I'm sorry, Hinata, I thought you were spying because…' Naruto turned to her. 'I'm sorry', he repeated, hoping he hadn't cost himself an opportunity for just one friend because of his stupidity.

'It's…. okay, Naruto-kun', Hinata couldn't believe this kind, kind boy. She was the one who was spying and he was the one saying sorry. Why anyone want to hurt such a kind soul, was beyond her. Could she have the same courage to apologise as Naruto possessed in abundance?

No, there was no question of if! She had to do it. Or she would curse herself for the lost opportunity. 'N…Naruto-kun', she whispered.

'Hmm', Naruto replied, and despite his earlier bravado, was afraid of the fear bubbling inside him. Would she take it back? Would she decide he really wasn't good enough?

'I wanted to apologise', Hinata forced herself lift her head with monumental effort. She could never look her father or any of the elders in the eye when she had done something or other wrong. But she wanted, no needed Naruto to see that she was sincere.

'_What?'_

Naruto felt that after this conversation was over, he would need a thorough spar to get his head on straight. Surely, being confused this much in a single conversation couldn't be healthy. Or normal.

Her face may be projecting her fears but maybe Naruto could see it still. She could always read his eyes. Maybe… maybe one day Naruto could too. Realising she was getting carried on with her thoughts, she shook them off, no matter how inviting they were.

'About w…what I said in Wave', she mumbled, hoping that he would get the point. She was really ashamed of her words.

'Oh', Naruto's eyes widened in realisation. 'That.'

'Un hun…', Hinata continued. 'I shouldn't have and… I was wrong to say it….' was as far as the stuttering young Hyuga got before she was interrupted by a resounding 'No!' from the blonde shaking his head.

He wasn't going to forgive her? She knew it. It was too much to hope for her stupidity.

'No. You don't need to say sorry'

Huh! What!

'Did you mean it?' he asked, already knowing the answer but wanting to hear it from her either way.

What?

Hinata blinked once. Then twice trying to make sense of this, her head following the boy walk back and forth.

'Yes… but… I…. I'm sorry', she had no idea what else to say. Oh why in the world had she been so stupid?!

Naruto had jumped to his feet and was pacing in front of the girl, trying to explain it to her. Holding his emotions back and thinking rationally was still a fairly new concept to him. And truthfully, he still a little guilty about losing it in front of the Hokage and the visitors, not to mention hitting Sakura.

'I'm not mad at you. Well not anymore.'

He tried to think up a sensible way to explain the conclusion he had come to, to the girl who was patiently waiting for his response, making him even more impatient to get this uncomfortable conversation over and done with.

'You pointed out my weakness', Naruto smiled at her. Yes, he had thought about it long and hard. And only when she had said she was worried about him did he draw the conclusion.

'It was because of you and Zabuza that I realised I needed to work harder, better. Get serious. That I wasn't as awesome as I thought I was.'

Hinata nodded, unable to form a response at his logic. 'Y…yes but…'

'And since you told the truth, so will I', Naruto whirled towards her, a determined look set in his eyes.

However, what he said next dashed all her hopes of him wanting to be friends with her. 'You said I was weaker than the mutt. So are you though.'

'I… I know I'm weak… Naruto-kun… but….'

However, Naruto wasn't done, 'So both of us are right now, the weakest members of our team right. So, we can hardly get any worse. Once we reach rock bottom, there's no place to go but up, right?' Naruto laughed loudly.

Why hadn't she thought of that before. At least this conversation was enlightening in some way. Now she felt much better than before and apparently, so did Naruto.

Never in a hundred years would she have thought he would say this. But really, she should have expected this. He wasn't one to give up. It just went to show that maybe she didn't know him as well as she thought.

Perhaps… perhaps she would have the chance to get to know him now. But the excitable boy kept going on as Hinata watched with fondness.

'Yosh! We'll work together!' Naruto nodded vigorously, more to himself than to her, his pathway now becoming clearer than when he left the library.

Only an hour ago, never would he have imagined that an hour, and a conversation with a weird Hyuga could bring up about such change and lightness in his soul.

'T…together, Naruto-kun?' Hinata could barely believe what she was hearing. He wanted to train with her? What did that mean? He must know she couldn't teach him the Jyuken and surely, he wouldn't want to teach her his signature clone jutsu.

'Yes. If there's one thing I've learnt from baka-Kakashi, it's that "Those who breaks the rules are trash, but those who abandon their friends are worse than trash!"'. Sure, it wasn't exactly what he had said, but it was roughly what he had meant.

'F…. Friends?' Hinata squeaked, reddening at the mere thought of it, swaying at the spot. She shook her head to focus on this most bizarre, yet unprecedented but not at all unwelcome conversation. It seemed Naruto perceived that shake of head the wrong way, for his smile faltered almost instantly.

'That's what friends do right?', Naruto asked, a hint of apprehension and trepidation in his voice which Hinata definitely heard. 'Work together', he added, scratching the back of his head in the way she found most adorable.

He wanted to be her friend! _He _wanted to be her friend. Even after everything that had happened. Hinata nodded vigorously, 'Y…Yes, Naruto-kun. We're friends!', she proclaimed as rewarded by a smile that threatened to split the blonde's face in two.

She couldn't believe this was happening. This had to be the happiest day of her life. It was in that moment that Naruto looked truly happy. And she had caused that. A warmth spread through her chest at the thought. She had taken him out of his earlier misery and given him some happiness.

'Friends then!' Naruto thrust his hand out to the girl and grabbed hers, shaking it vigorously. He was still somewhat embarrassed he had been so mistaken about her but it doesn't matter.

They were starting from a fresh slate now. Now that he thought about it, her smile really was cute, cuter than Sakura's in his opinion. But no sooner had the thought appeared, he squashed it down. In his young, unloved and inexperienced mind, he didn't want to think perverted thoughts about his new and not to mention, his only friend.

'B…But how are we going to get s…stronger, Naruto-kun?' Hinata asked earnestly. She wanted to get stronger more than anything, and surely if Naruto believed it was possible, then it must be.

'The library?' she suggested meekly, remembering where it was, she had followed him to today.

'Yes, but most of all, it's going to take only two things!' Naruto exclaimed, holding up two fingers to her.

'Yes?' Hinata nodded, eyes glued to the blonde boy as if he was Kami himself come down to earth to deliver a sermon.

'Un hun', Naruto nodded. 'And those are hard work and the guts to never give up!', he told her the same thing he had to Konohamaru more than two months ago, the day after he had graduated.

And surely, if the six-year-old had gotten the hang of Sexy Jutsu without previously knowing the henge, both Hinata and him could get stronger as well.

She gasped, for in that moment, she saw his eyes become an even more intense blue, as if blue fire was raging in them.

'Which means, we can't just be friends', Naruto added, nodding to himself as if he had just realised a truth of the world.

'What?' Hinata asked shocked at the sudden turn of conversation and sentiment, feeling as if her heart had dropped into her stomach. Weren't they becoming friends? Had she mistaken his regard and the reason for his comments. Or had she thought it all up in her delusional mind? 'Why?'

Naruto grinned, 'That's because from now on, you and I are rivals Hinata Hyuga! Rivals to get stronger.'

He knew he probably looked very silly giving her the thumbs up pose like Guy does but he didn't care right now. For he had heard from both Lee and Guy how the presence of their eternal rivals, spurs them to ever achieve higher heights in their training and get stronger. A motivation of sorts.

Hinata's eyes widened in realisation. He didn't just want to be friends because he thought her much more worthy. No one ever, had thought her worthy of making her their rival. Even Sakura and Ino were each other's rivals and surely both were better than her. Her elation in that moment threatened to overwhelm her, as she felt her faintness coming on to her again. This was really happening!

She wasn't just dreaming it. She had already checked by pinching herself. Just to be sure, she did it again, and a sharp sting on pain on her thigh told her this was real!

She giggled at his silly pose but far from putting her off of the whole idea, she felt inspired. Surely, working to prove herself to Naruto-kun, she would succeed.

'_Don't faint, don't faint!' _she told herself, as she was sure she was blushing like a tomato when Naruto snatched up her hand and shook it in a sincere action of sealing a deal.

'Deal?' Naruto repeated himself to the girl whose hand he held and who had gone dangerously red. Seriously, what the hell was wrong with her?

'Yes!' Hinata nodded her head vigorously. 'Deal!' Though, she didn't know exactly what she had agreed to but at the moment, she didn't care. This was a monumental moment in her life and she wasn't going to ruin it by asking stupid questions.

'Great!' Naruto once again shook her hand vigorously, 'We'll spar once a week to see how strong we are getting.'

Hinata's eyes lit up like a cherry blossom tree in the height of spring. He wanted to spar with her!

'See ya later, Hinata', Naruto voice came from further away and she realised he had taken off, the boundless bundle of energy he was.

Not surprising, since Naruto seemed to recover from almost anything unnaturally quickly. She could have sworn that not a few hours ago, he had limped into the library, as if his body couldn't hold him up.

'See you later, Naruto-kun', she said more to herself than him, a huge smile lighting up her face as she walked to the Missions Office to get a form for herself, even thought she could barely afford it. But sacrifices needed to be made in her… their quest to get stronger.

Unknown to both and the blonde who had sprinted full tilt out of the Hokage Tower, the entire scene was witnessed by the aging Hokage sat at his desk, with his crystal ball in front of him.

The past week, he had feared that Naruto was going down the same route his misguided student had, isolating himself to further his training. But now, seeing the boy interact with the shy Hyuga, his fears were laid to rest. He wasn't isolating himself; he was waiting for just someone to acknowledge him.

And now that she had, his fears of Naruto going down the same path were laid to rest. He smiled at the boy he had complete faith in, to succeed him. 'The real path to becoming a ninja has only just begun, Naruto, Hinata.'


	16. Chapter 16

'WHAT?!' Naruto's shout must have reverberated through out the Hokage Tower, 'What do you mean I'm not going?'

'Che, what did you expect, dobe', Sasuke muttered from beside Naruto, sending a smirk his way.

'Naruto-baka! You can't yell at Hokage-sama!' Sakura almost bonked him on the head with a well-placed punch, if he hadn't stepped forward and slammed both his hands on the Hokage's desk.

'That's not fair, Jiji!' Naruto said adamantly. 'I haven't even done anything.'

Of course, he knew that wasn't true. He knew what this was about and why he was being punished. In truth, it was a bonus to him. But lest he show it, he had to act the part. And that meant being enraged about the perceived unfairness of it all.

'Naruto, this is your punishment', Kakashi sighed looking at the blonde idiot who was busy glaring at the Hokage. 'I told you this would happen yesterday.'

Naruto whirled his head around, 'I came to the lame-ass mission, today didn't I?' he asked the Jonin heatedly.

'Naruto!' he chanced looking back and saw that the Sakura was nearing the edge of her very limited patience, gritting her teeth as she was.

'Be careful Sakura, your face might get stuck that way', he told her, and resisted the urge to laugh out loud at her exasperated look.

'What did you say?' Sakura hissed holding her sleeves up as if preparing for cooking.

'And with your forehead as big as it is, it won't be a good combination', Naruto ignored the gasp of shocked intake of breath from Kakashi, the muttering of 'idiot' from the bastard and looked straight at her, counting down the seconds it would take to get her to explode.

'_One, two, three….' _

'NARUTO!' she screeched, 'I'm going to kill you, baka!'

'_Bingo!'_

Hiruzen palmed his face. He can't be dealing with another pair Jiraiya and Tsunade come again. Once was enough and he was getting too old for this shit, no matter how much these two reminded him of his ex-students.

He coughed getting their attention, and halting Sakura's punch from landing on top of the boy's head. Not that he didn't deserve it this time.

The Hokage resisted from chuckling, reminded as he was about Jiraiya similarly commenting on Tsunade-chan's figure, and sent a stern look towards the genin.

'Regardless, but you did send your clones to do the missions for a week, Naruto, even if they were D-ranks', Hiruzen told the genin. 'And that was not acceptable. In a combat mission this can easily get yourself and your teammates killed. You will face the consequences of your actions!'

His stern reprimand left no room for argument, and Naruto straightened, his deception for the time being, complete.

'As you wish Jiji!' Naruto exclaimed, giving a mock salute to the old man and marching straight out of the office, ignoring the envious look from Sasuke and the heated one from Sakura. He was secretly glad that his observation skills were clearly improving.

A month ago, he wouldn't have been able to distinguish between a bored Sasuke look and an envious Sasuke look. Sakura was much easier to read, since she doesn't hide her emotions at all. Much like he used to be.

Now, since he was not going with the team to Wave to collect the first instalment of the payment, he could spend that time productively. Without having to worry about his sensei, or Sasuke nosing around in his business.

'Are you sure, Hokage-sama?' Kakashi asked, as they stood in the old man's office yet again. Not many jonin and certainly no one under that rank could even think to ask the Hokage if he was sure. But the silver-haired cyclops had always had a special relationship with the Hokage.

Not to mention he was part of the old man's legacy. For Hiruzen had trained Jiraiya, who had trained Minato, who had trained Kakashi, who was now training Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura. Out of the Rookie nine, it was commonly accepted that the Sasuke was the most likely candidate for Hokage in the future.

Even if Naruto liked to yell to the world about his dream, no one, save for the Hokage himself even thought he could achieve it. Kakashi probably shouldn't think so about his own student, but Naruto just didn't have what it takes. Sure, the boy was unnaturally stubborn and had immense stamina but that wasn't enough to be Hokage.

And it was here, the day after the blonde had blown up in front of the Water Princess, his team now stood without Naruto. For the boy who had just walked out, was probably going to the library again. At first, Kakashi had been quite curious and more than a little concerned about what the boy could be studying there all week.

But yesterday had put his fears and curiosity to rest. He didn't know how Naruto had even gotten entry into the Konoha Shinobi Library, seeing as the chunins previously used to bar him from entering.

Honestly, he was a little disappointed when he realised that Naruto was still researching the academy three jutsu but perhaps that had its uses. After all, it showed that Naruto was at least listening to him about working on his basics. Now only if the boy learns to manage his studies with his team exercises, they wouldn't be having so many problems.

Already Naruto's changes, and his now recent isolation in the library was affecting the team dynamic greatly. And not at all how he would prefer it.

Truth be told, he was glad that Naruto wasn't looking at more advanced, elemental jutsus, not that the boy would even understand them. Which is what makes them so dangerous for someone who had such terrible control of his own chakra.

Not to mention the other source he had as well. It was well and good that the boy hadn't seemed to realise any of it. The later the better in his opinion. And he knew that the Hokage and the advisors also agreed with him on this. That is, the advisors except Danzo. Who the hell knows what the man was thinking at the best of times?

A look at Sasuke and Sakura told him that they too were uncomfortable with the idea of leaving Naruto behind, no matter how annoying they found him.

Perhaps this would be what brought them closer, he thought. At least, they were thinking about each other now, instead of only themselves, as opposed to be a week ago.

After Kakashi had threatened Naruto with an official reprimand, he seemed to have gotten his senses back together. For Kakashi had checked if the Naruto during the morning's mission was a shadow clone or not.

And surprisingly, it wasn't. But it seemed that the Hokage had a different idea. No matter how much the Sarutobi liked Naruto, he couldn't just show such favouritism. Especially not with his rivals being more outspoken in the shinobi council as of late.

And so, the Hokage had to punish Naruto somehow. Even if Kakashi personally thought that the boy had learnt his lesson… for now.

'Yes, I am Kakashi', Hiruzen answered, sighing and blowing out a puff of smoke from his pipe. 'Naruto is a very emotional child.'

Sasuke snorted at the proclamation. Emotional didn't even begin to cover the dobe. He wore his heart on his sleeve and knew nothing of being subtle. A must for a Shinobi. They were just lucky that the Princess hadn't taken offense to his stunt yesterday.

'Regardless', Hiruzen sent a stern glare towards the young Uchiha, 'He needs to learn that there are consequences for his actions and that sending a Shadow Clone to team missions, without informing his teammates is not acceptable.'

Hiruzen knew that Naruto most probably will not take this well, but even if the boy was maturing before his eyes, he couldn't let this go. He had made the mistake with Orochimaru, and he was determined not to make the same with Naruto.

On that note, he still needed to talk to Kakashi about it. And so, he dismissed the two genin and told the Copy-Cat, his most likely successor, to stay behind.

'I am disappointed in you Kakashi', he said, brooking no excuses. 'I thought you would know better than to dismiss one of your students like you have done.'

Kakashi had put down his smut, knowing that sat before him wasn't the kind, old man most of the village knew him as. Before him was the God of Shinobi who had successfully guided Konoha through two wars; the Professor who had single-handedly thrown Kyuubi out of the village's borders by himself.

None of his sass would be appreciated or tolerated in this instant. And such, he couldn't even pretend to not understand what he was talking about.

'You're not denying it, good', Hiruzen nodded, glad to see that the boy wasn't so arrogant to think himself infallible. As strong as he was, it had been the death of many a strong shinobi. And Kakashi still had a lot to learn.

'What do you have to say for yourself. And your favouritism?' Hiruzen asked sternly. 'Surely you didn't think such an act would not come back to me.'

'I admit I made a mistake in not giving Naruto enough attention, Hokage-sama', Kakashi bowed his head, wondering if it was Naruto himself who had complained or if it was Kurenai.

The boy he could understand, even though what he had said was eventually in the blonde's best interest. The newly-minted Jonin however, had no business butting into how he deals with his own team.

The Hokage saw the calculating look in Kakashi's lone eye and was quick to clarify, lest Kakashi go looking for a fight where there was none to be had. 'It wasn't Kurenai-san.'

'Naruto then', Kakashi nodded, having already figured that out. 'And I can't honestly say I blame him.' Honestly, now that he thought about it, his sensei would have ashamed of him. Hadn't he taught his own students that abandoning a comrade made one worse than trash.

How had he forgotten his own philosophy, or rather, the philosophy he had adopted from his deceased teammate.

'Yes, a week ago, Naruto was predictably annoyed', the Hokage answered. 'And I don't blame him either.'

Kakashi nodded, waiting for a reprimand or a demand for an explanation. And it wasn't like he didn't have an explanation. For he had a perfectly reasonable and legitimate one.

'Sasuke needs me to teach him to master the Sharingan and –'

'I know. But that does not mean you neglect your other students Kakashi!' Hiruzen saw through his excuse as easily as a veteran of two shinobi wars sees through a genin's henge. 'Just because you feel like you owe Obito, doesn't mean you don't teach Sakura and Naruto.'

'I haven't ignored them –'

'Kakashi!' Hiruzen turned sharply to the brat who dares argue with him, silencing the Jonin instantly.

'It was in Kurenai's report that your team hadn't known tree climbing during the Wave mission. And that Naruto was still practising the tree climbing exercise and shuriken throwing a week ago when Kurenai gave her team the reconnaissance mission.'

Kakashi took the pause as his queue to offer an explanation now. He sighed, unwilling it to admit the truth, not because it was painful but because it would mean he would have had failed with the second Uchiha brother if it comes to pass. 'Sasuke is a flight risk. He needs more attention and Naruto's basics are abysmal.'

'I agree, he does and they are', Hiruzen wasn't blind to the hatred festering within the boy. It was as visible as the book's bulge in Kakashi's pocket. 'But surely you know that Naruto is a flight risk as well.'

Kakashi nodded, having already known it. But honestly, it was frankly impossible for Naruto to leave the village. Not only because of his dream of becoming Hokage, but because of his status and importance to the village.

'But?' Hiruzen prompted the man who expound further and reflect on his own folly. 'Perhaps… perhaps we have been a little unreasonable. Neither of the previous containers could perform the three basic jutsus to a satisfactory level after all.'

'I agree that perhaps telling Naruto to focus again and again on the academy jutsus was not the best idea even though it was in best interest', Kakashi admitted. 'But his other basic skills are still very weak and need work.'

'Perhaps if you teach him a jutsu or two, he will not isolate himself as much as he has started to in the past week', the Hokage offered the man a possible solution. It will also solve the boy's problem of finding a tutor, which he had witnessed yesterday and hopefully also improve team 7's dynamics.

'I agree. I will work with him on his taijutsu and give him an incentive of a jutsu to strive towards', Kakashi said, already planning on what jutsu he would teach the blonde. Surely Naruto would appreciate being given a technique and it will satisfy his ongoing rivalry with Sasuke, for a time at least, until Sasuke surpasses him yet again and they would be back to where they started.

'Or perhaps take him to Guy to fix his messed up taijutsu stances?' the Hokage, wondering if the Jonin was blind to that one fact.

Kakashi shook his head, 'If Naruto hadn't already met him, I wouldn't have put him through it. I don't even know how they met. I know Guy wouldn't have gone out of his way to find another student. He has his hands full.'

'Ah so you do know.' Hiruzen chuckled, remembering how he had been taking a walk in the early morning light and saw their first meeting. 'It wasn't Guy. Naruto actually found them training and asked to join in.'

Kakashi shook his head in apparent exasperation, hoping his errant student wouldn't start taking after the weird Jonin. His current changes were bad enough. Kakashi was certain that the team wouldn't be able to handle if Naruto suddenly started wearing a neon green skin-tight suit.

'There were weight marks on his arms and thighs last week. And there's only one person who uses weights strapped to his body. But it has only been a week. Even if weights do get the job done, they will not work so quickly.'

And at least, they slowed him down somewhat from being so hyperactive. At least until he gets used to them. Which Kakashi didn't think would happen anytime soon, given the amount of weights the blonde has strapped to his person.

Another thought had him worried though. What would Sasuke's reaction be if Naruto started getting faster, albeit, gradually since weights take a lot of time to have that effect. Perhaps he would have to employ some type of weight training for the Uchiha as well, in time.

The Sandaime nodded, agreeing with the Jonin's conclusion. Even though he had given Naruto the homework to research the academy three jutsu and he was using Guy's method of conditioning training, it would take some time for it to show results.

Just enough, conveniently for the rest of Team Seven to return from the mission to Wave. 'I agree. But you will teach Naruto and Sakura more from now on.'

Hiruzen didn't need to remind the experienced Jonin what would happen if Naruto started getting desperate. For desperation always attracts the vultures. And for once, it wasn't his teammate he was worried about now. Little did he know, his fears were about to come true… somewhat.

Kakashi agreed, knowing that it was an order even if Naruto would not and most probably could not get the basics down, ever. It might just not be in his blood. He remembered another Uzumaki who couldn't perform them either.

With that, he left the office to wait by the gates for his team, hopefully they would have sorted out their bickering long enough to go pack for two weeks.

Naruto however, hadn't waited for his teammates to catch up to him after being dismissed from the Hokage's Office. After leaving the office, Naruto had filed the mission request at the Mission Desk.

But just in case some smartass Chunin got the brilliant idea of throwing his request in the bin, he had filled multiple copies of them. Just in case he would need to file one again.

And as he walked to find an isolated training ground, Naruto threw one glare at the Yondaime's head on the Hokage Mountain and quickly turned away, his eyes becoming just slightly darker in that moment.

Even if the Sandaime had done him a favour – even if it wasn't his intention – Naruto wasn't in a good mood. No, in fact he was in a terrible mood today. As such, he didn't spare a glance to the varied number of glares he got, as usual, from Konoha's populace.

It used to bother him quite a lot. And as recently as a month ago, he would have tried anything to gain their acceptance. To try and figure out what he had done wrong for them to behave this way towards him.

Now though he knew it wasn't his fault. It was that bastard right there on the Hokage Mountain. It was his fault. Naruto didn't know he could have been so stupid to not be able to connect the dots before. How many times before had he cursed himself for not being able to win over the villagers and not paid attention to the evidence which staring him right in the face.

'Look underneath the underneath', baka-Kakashi says. And Naruto never knew its significance more than this moment.

He vaguely heard a civilian woman whispering not to subtly to her friend, and looking pointedly at him. Whipping his head towards them, Naruto glared with his narrowed eyes at the pair of gossiping fools.

What did they know of anything? The women, startled that the boy who used to give blinding grins was now glaring back at them, quickly looked away. Whether it was embarrassment at being caught or fear, Naruto neither knew nor did he particularly.

Unbeknownst to him though, that particular interaction was observed by a frowning old man looking into a crystal ball.

All of his misery stemmed from one stupid night. And the fucking fox in his gut, as he had found out last night.

Ever since discovering his surprising affinity for being able to sense chakras, Naruto had been intent on figuring out what the hell was wrong with him. Even with his gruelling hours of training chakra control, he was unable to even cast a single fucking bunshin or substitution without messing it up somehow. His clone still looked dead and sickly, and he could barely substitute himself with the objects he needed to.

But his week of researching chakra theory and handseals had showed him one indisputable fact. That he had too much fucking chakra. An insane amount in fact. But, so did the Hokage. Compared to all other Jonins, the old man's chakra was like an ocean. And so, for him merely the amount of it would not, and should not have created so many problems.

And that was what led him to discovering the fox. After going home, he had meditated like was his habit ever since being given Tobirama's book. But doing it with his increasing sensing ability had alerted him to the two types of chakra in his system.

If he was to give them a colour, one would be blue and the other would be an angry red. The blue felt calmer by comparison. The red however, felt like a flood of rage, hate, anger. Like an oceanic wave crashing against a dam.

Not knowing what else to do, he had let himself sink in. Hours, or perhaps it was minutes later, he had found himself standing in a sewer with large pipes all going in one direction in the maze. Following them, the feeling of the angry, red chakra had grown steadily stronger and soon enough, he had followed it to its source and came up in front of a gigantic cage in hall like room.

An angry huff, a burst of chakra his way, and a lazy opening of a large red eye with a black slit, he realised this was no mere nightmare or dream. Or maybe the moving shadows, like many tails, behind the eye gave him that impression.

Either way, he didn't go nearer to the cage. It was clearly sealing something. The tag on the front of it said so clearly.

And it wasn't until the gruff, deep voice spoke that Naruto understood the reality, and the gravity of his situation; the literal unfairness and the contempt and hatred he had to deal with all his life.

'So, my jailer comes to visit me at last', said the voice.

Naruto, in that moment, was barely able to keep himself from breaking down, in tears. Not of despair but of anger.

'Kyubi', Naruto replied, surprising even himself with how calm his voice came out, given the rage he was feeling.

'Who else could I be, pathetic mortal!' the beast snarled in anger. 'Come closer so I can rip you to shreds!' he yelled.

Naruto, surprisingly understood the beast's anger, maybe not completely, but at least some part of it. And so, ignoring the fear he was feeling and wasn't afraid to admit, he walked straight to the cage, wondering perhaps foolishly what would happen if the beast did harm him. Surely, they were in his mind, so this wasn't physical.

Suddenly, five large claws crashed into the metal sounding gate, protruding out of the space between the spars and nearly impaling him, coupled with a roar of the fox.

With all the courage he could muster, Naruto forced himself to stay even as his apparent death became imminent, his eyes never straying from the fox's red, hateful orbs.

Silence… absolute silence followed what he presumed was the fox's attempt at getting out, and Naruto clearly wasn't dead… yet.

'Interesting', Naruto said, now looking down at the still visible razor-sharp claws which looked to be even bigger than him.

The fox sneered at the boy in the dark. He had seen what the boy's life had been like up to this moment. He knew the rage that the boy carried within him. He had seen the darkness lurking underneath, which the boy consciously ignored at times when it was threatening to overwhelm him.

It pleased the fox to see that his jailer wasn't at least a complete idiot, given by the fact that he wasn't surprised at his presence. He had come to the conclusion fairly quickly.

But still, he was born from that bitch! And he hated Uzumakis as much as he loathed Uchihas. Perhaps even more than Uchihas. And it looked like this boy was going the same way as the ones that came before him.

'What do you want mortal!' Kyubi snarled, enraged that his claws didn't even touch the blonde rat. He so wished that this troublesome seal wasn't there so he could consume this boy's consciousness and take over his body. 'If you think –'

'It was you', Naruto interrupted the Kyubi's rant midway.

'What! You dare to interrupt –'

But Naruto wasn't the most stubborn ninja for nothing, for he did it again, 'It was you who enabled me to defeat Haku.'

Naruto knew that with as much certainty as he could say that the sky was blue.

Kyubi snarled in annoyance. 'Of course, it was me fool! Surely, you didn't think you were strong enough to think you did it by yourself!'

No, he hadn't. Naruto knew it was some other power as soon as he had come to his senses. Only did it make sense to him when he was staring at the evidence in the face.

'What? No moaning about how I ruined your life, you pathetic worm?' Kyubi goaded him. Perhaps, he could use this boy's hatred to eventually get him to free him.

Naruto shook his head, 'A month ago when I still a stupid idiot, I would have. But I know this is neither of our doing', he felt for the seal on his stomach. If only the library had any elementary sealing books, he'd be set to start his research on the subject. Alas, there weren't any apart from the ridiculously complicated ones he had no chance of understanding. Nor would he allowed to view them.

But his answered questions didn't erase the anger and the pain he was feeling at this betrayal. And so, he had pulled himself out of his mindscape and tried to distract himself last night. But not before he had made a deal with the fox.

With everything that had happened since last night, Naruto's mind was in a whirlwind, much like after Wave. Only so much greater. And so was the pain that accompanied it when he looked at the bastard Yondaime's face.

'A Hokage protects his village and all those who live in it', he remembered the old man telling him. But apparently, the Hokage wasn't above sacrificing new-born orphans for their ungrateful village either.

What kind of the leader was that? Did he want to be like that? No! He would never be like the blonde bastard!

What would Tobirama have done, if he was alive? After all he had read about the man, he still couldn't say with any certainty of how he thought. Therefore, he could only speculate. And he was tempted to think that the Nidaime would not have sacrificed just some orphan he had found.

He would not have asked some other parent to sacrifice their child either. No, he would have used himself for the sealing. That much was certain. He wouldn't have been like the Yondaime, he thought hatefully.

'But isn't that what a shinobi is. Sacrificing and using others. Like I sacrificed Haku', a traitorous voice which sounded suspiciously like Zabuza, rang in his head.

But even with the disastrous earthquake to his belief system, one thing stood out clear to him, as clear as the fact that Kakashi was a pervert, that he did not want to be a Hokage. At least, not a Hokage like the Yondaime. Why defend such a foolish, ignorant, hateful population when they mean absolutely nothing to him.

But then, what did want to be?

A shinobi! The answer was just as clear to him now as it was two months ago. Was the Demon of the Mist wrong? After all, what he had said went against the Will of Fire that Tobirama had talked about in his book.

'But what even is a shinobi?' he asked himself, hating the fact that he was back to square one; back where he was after the Wave mission.

Naruto felt like he hadn't improved a bit in the time since he had his epiphany to start getting his shit together. True, he hadn't learnt a new jutsu or gotten particularly smarter, but he thought he had at least learnt something.

He needed to do better. But it was clear that he couldn't trust either Kakashi or the old man until they justified their reasons for hiding something so big from him. A traitorous part of him said that it wasn't his place, as a lowly genin to ask the Hokage or a Jonin for explanation on anything, but in his angered, and rightly so irrational mindset, right now he couldn't care less.

'Wow, you're more of an idiot than I thought', Naruto whirled around, cursing his inattentiveness as he heard the voice of the white-haired Kiri genin from the old man's office.

Unlike the day before, she wore a light pink battle kimono and walked towards him with an arrogant smirk plastered on her face.

'What do you want', Naruto spat at her, not in the mood for any of their bullshit. He wasn't about to befriend another foreign ninja. He might be a slow learner but he had learnt his lesson from the dressing down Kakashi had given him for trusting Haku so quickly.

'Nothing', the girl shrugged. 'Was just out for a walk and decided to check out the calibre of ninja Konoha has. Must be pretty pathetic if an idiot like you, who doesn't even know what a shinobi is, can become a genin.'

The look she was giving him made her look remarkably like the female Sasuke-teme. And that annoyed Naruto even more, 'Like I care about what you think.'

She scoffed back at him, 'Well clearly you don't care about what people think. Otherwise you wouldn't have killed a defenceless man in cold blood like you did with Zabuza.'

Naruto flinched back momentarily, not because of the heat in the girl's eyes but at the honest and brutal accusation. 'I… I didn't…'

He didn't know what to say in his defence. He had nothing to say when he had killed Zabuza in cold blood when the man was injured and down, and clearly wasn't a threat to anyone. It was one of the most shameful moments of his time.

But why in the hell was she so pissed off about it? Didn't she and her team call him a rogue ninja the day before and even congratulated them? He was a rebel, wasn't he? Weren't they fighting the rebels? Was that not why they here on a mission from the Daimyo? It didn't make any sense whatsoever.

'Of course, you're going to deny it!' she scoffed, shaking her head as if she had known what he was going to say.

'Shut up!' Naruto yelled, 'What do you even know about him, huh! You're still fighting for the insane Mizukage that Zabuza died fighting against! You don't care about what he sacrificed himself for!'

He backed up as the girl came forward suddenly, standing almost an inch for him as she hissed, 'Sacrificed! He didn't sacrifice for anything! You murdered him!'

But Naruto was beyond the point of thinking rationally, and drew closer still, his eyes darkening significantly, and unbeknownst to him, his nails were lengthening into claws, 'Yes! Yes, I murdered him!'

Even admitting such a grave truth pained him more than he thought possible. He had avoided thinking about that horrendous action, the squelch of blood, the tears of sinew and flesh under steel as he jammed the kunai in the Demon's heart, for more than a month. Even worse was the fact that he didn't know, or didn't remember why he had done it.

But now the pain was rearing its ugly. His eyesight was becoming cloudy, and little did he know tears were welling up in those dark blue orbs.

The girl's eyes widened as she saw the changes in his visage. Could it be…?

'What are you gonna do about it, bitch!'

WHAT?! What did he just call her!

'Why you little, good-for-nothing bastard!' the girl spat, banging her head against his forehead. 'Not only did you kill him in cold blood, but you had the nerve to steal what is ours. How dare you!'

Naruto momentarily blanched as she hurled another painful accusation but rallied quicker this time, remembering what he had read about the 'Right of Conquest' in the library.

'I stole nothing', Naruto growled.

'Liar!' she snarled, 'And I'm going to make you give it to me! It doesn't belong to you!'

That elicited an unnaturally cold laugh from the Kyubi container, one that sounded vaguely demonic. 'Make me!'

Rather than hurl another insult at the blonde, she acted far faster than he could even see and threw a punch right into his gut.

'Ooommph!' Naruto almost curled over; his stomach seemed like it almost shattered upon contact.

He coughed out spit and blood as he realised with eyes scrunched up in pain. What had just happened? How in the world did a simple punch make him feel like he had been hit in the gut with a hammer?

But he wasn't Naruto for nothing. He was up almost instantly, and without thinking it through like he had been training himself to, he hurled himself forward, swinging him arms and claws, hoping to get a hit on her.

He snarled as he missed for the umpteenth time, and once again she retaliated with a swift kick to the side of his head, making him see double.

'AGGHH!' Naruto let out a frustrated roar, charging in yet again and throwing all he had learnt for the past month out of the window. He swung a right hook but she ducked under it, and lashed with a knee to his gut.

'Even if you hit me, fool, you can do no damage to me!' she spat, lashing out with a foot to his face.

'Ooof!' Naruto was thrown backwards a few feet yet again. But he wasn't the most stubborn ninja for nothing. Ignoring his bleeding nose, he got up, 'I'll crush you!'

Hidden nearby however, were two masked ninjas observing this impromptu fight between the two children. There was no question that the girl was strong, and since she was a foreign ninja visiting their village, it was standard protocol for her to be watched.

They hadn't counted on her seeking out one of their own, however. Let alone, the resident troublemaker. Which really was an oversight on their part. They should have expected it, given what she had witnessed in the Hokage's office yesterday.

And now that boy was being beaten down like a ragdoll by an obviously stronger opponent.

'Should we intervene?', her partner whispered, eyeing the blonde whose yet another rather sloppy punch was dodged and the boy was rewarded with a roundhouse kick that he couldn't fully avoid.

'No', Neko replied, shaking her head, dismissively at her partner. True, he was a recent recruit, but he needed to learn that ANBU were much different than normal ninja. The normal rules and code of conduct don't apply to them. It was only her luck that she got stuck babysitting the newbie.

'We've only been ordered to watch this girl, Harui. Besides, his life isn't threatened.'

That's not to say it won't be any time soon if this keeps up. Honestly, she was a little disappointed. How could the student of her senpai be so weak? Hadn't the lazy brat learnt anything from him? Or was he just wasting his time in the library instead of being out here, training?

Putting his hands in the familiar cross seals, he shouted, 'Shadow Clone Jutsu!'

'One clone is useless', she smirked at him and but it quickly turned into a frown. He had released a crazy amount of chakra. What in the world?

The field of green was instantly covered in smoke and out of that, poured almost a hundred clones. By this time Naruto had bitten his own palm, forcing himself to calm down.

'_Focus, Naruto. Don't be an idiot',_ he told himself, smirking at the idea in his head.

He might not be the most strategically thinking shinobi, but he wasn't the number prankster in Konoha for nothing. And besides, he just had to see what the hell was up with this girl. Why did her hits feel like he had been hit with a lead bo staff?

However, it soon became clear that she was the greater taijutsu user among them. None of the clone that attacked were able to land a single blow against her. She dodged around them as if they were nothing, and slow through his feints and attacks as if the clones were moving in slow motion.

However, not all was useless. Naruto had been able to gather one thing: she wasn't as good at defending as she was in attacking. She evaded at all times possible, only resorting to blocking when evasion wasn't possible.

This was confirmed when his clones were finally able to successfully surround her from all sides and launched their attacks at the exact same moment, flanking her and covering her retreat.

'Ugh', Harui snarled, glaring at the annoyances, as she jumped into the air, avoiding a sweep from two clones only two set upon by two more coming down on her.

She had been hoping she wouldn't need to show it, but it seemed that the blonde idiot was getting pissed off. His clones were planning to slaughter her with their kunai held in both hands.

'Got you now, bitch!' Naruto yelled, grinning viciously.

'_Crap!' _she cursed mentally, channelling chakra as much as possible to her extremities and forearms, hissing at the sudden flare of open. She still had to get used to the fact that it hurt every time she used her bloodline.

Finally, Naruto had been able to land blows on her, stomach, face, and back when the unthinkable happened. He only had ten clones remaining and just when it looked like he would be able to pound her down, he sensed surge of chakra from her.

'Fool!' she spat, smug grin on her face.

'What the fuck!' Naruto was astonished. What in the hell was that?

He had no time to think on it though as he backpedalled quickly, ignoring the disturbing image of the girl whose bones were literally jutting out of her arms and palms, and trying to defend himself against her oncoming strikes.

'Kuso!' he cursed and was barely able to keep up with her. In a burst of speed, she was in front of him, and her bone swords landing strikes faster than he could see, the girl not even bothering to stop his feeble counter attacks seeing as they weren't doing anything.

'AGHHH!' Naruto's head whipped to the right, pain searing through the torn flesh of his jaw where the bone sword had struck him.

Slam! A punch right into his nose broke cartilage. Naruto was barely able to get back up in time to see the sharp bone sword coming straight at his chest, pushing himself to the right just to avoid it barely.

'Enough!'

Turns out he didn't need to avoid it at all, as the weird bone girl's sword was gripped by a decidedly feminine looking hand, attached to the beautiful Kiri Jonin dressed in blue.

'Harui!'

Naruto could barely comprehend her name, as he stared wide eyed to the girl who had nearly torn his jaw and flesh, blood leaking on his jumper, pain coursing through him like never before.

'Sensei!' the girl, Harui actually looked scared up for a second, having not expected for the older Kiri kunoichi to show up, before she whipped her eyes to him and glared. 'He's a thief!'

'Enough, I said', even Naruto knew that that tone wasn't something you argue with. It promised pain and punishment. 'I will deal with you later!'

With that, she turned to him as he staggered to his feet, 'Uzumaki-san. I would like to apologise for my genin's behaviour. She has problems dialling down her strength when sparring with those weaker than her.'

For a moment, he was stumped as to why she would even apologise, but then spotted the two ANBU who had landed behind the girl Harui and had their hands on their swords. He could only nod to her, partially because of his torn jaw flesh, but mostly because he couldn't even believe that this girl was a genin.

But then what she had said registered to him, and he coloured in embarrassment and shame, his anger rising to new levels. But unlike before, it was directed at himself.

And as he was escorted to the hospital, holding his bleeding jaw, Naruto constantly berated himself for the idiotic way he had fought; for getting beaten so easily by yet another Kiri-nin. Unlike Haku, she hadn't even used a jutsu and she had still handed his arse to him.

Naruto couldn't see either of the ANBU's face but for some reason, he could feel that they were disappointed in his showing. Hell, even he was disappointed in himself. Here he had been thinking that he had improved, even just a little. But his battered state, while Harui only had a few bruises clearly showed him how much he had been mistaken.

He had no idea when he was led to the hospital room, what the healer had said or asked. He didn't pay attention to the glowing green palms of the woman, or his skin and muscle knitting back together. Neither did he feel the gel she applied to his face or the resulting immense sting.

To the ANBU woman and the healer, it may look like Naruto was sulking, as he lay there nursing his broken and rehealed ribs. When in fact, it was quite the opposite. There was no doubt that if this had happened a month ago, he would be doing exactly what they expect.

Neither was he analysing his fight, as he would have expected. With every difficult breath and aching chest, he remembered the last hitching coughs of the Demon; of Zabuza's heaving breath as kneeled in front of him.

There in the clean hospital room, as his companions left him to his own devices, Naruto replayed the first real traumatic moment of his life, Harui's voice echoing in the depths of his mind.

'Shame!' they yelled.

'Murderer', they called him.

But among the calls were Haku's saddened and disappointed eyes, 'You insulted my sacrifice. You killed my precious person.'

And just like that, as if a blind had been lifted from his memories, he came bursting forth. At last, he remembered in full what happened on the bridge. At last, his questions were answered.

Naruto may have been lying on the pristine white sheets, but he walked down the accursed bridge to the Demon who had swords and spears sticking out of his back. His sides slashed and cut, his arms dangling and useless, his muscles torn and bleeding.

'Come here… brat', the pointy-toothed man wheezed.

Naruto didn't hear his sensei telling him to stay back. He didn't hear Kurenai cursing as he walked among the field of mutilated corpses littering the bridge.

He didn't hear the villagers of Wave Country banding together behind Inari, holding spears and pitchforks, intent on defending their village from the pillaging marauders, as he knelt on the blood-soaked concrete in front of the injured Demon.

His black beady eyes haunted Naruto's dreams to this day even now, staring into the depths of his blue orbs. The Demon motioned him closer and Naruto obliged so the man could whisper without Kakashi hearing him.

'K…Kill me', Zabuza coughed. 'Now…'

Naruto flinched back as if touching a hot pan, his horrified eyes wide with shock.

'N…No', Naruto whispered back, shaking his head in denial, his hot tears streaming down his face. He couldn't… he just couldn't do it. Not when his first friend had given his life to protect Zabuza.

Zabuza shook his head, 'K…Kiri…. Hunters!', his eyes pleading with someone for the first time ever in his life.

In that moment, Naruto didn't know how or why, but he understood. Zabuza did not want to die by the hands of the village he had fought for.

Slowly, as if his muscles of his arms were made of lead. As if his bones were filled with heavy iron instead of calcium, Naruto bent down and inched his hand towards the kunai which had fallen out of Zabuza's mouth.

'Naruto, stop! What are you doing!' Kakashi's alarmed voice came from somewhere behind him, much too close. Enough to come and stop him.

Zabuza's eyes never left Naruto's own, even as the Demon nodded and accepted his end.

He could sense Kakashi's surging chakra as he hurried forward. But not fast enough. With a speed previously unknown to the blonde, Naruto buried the kunai hilt deep into the Demon's chest, past the crunching bone and the squelching flesh, pushing through the tearing arteries and veins.

Zabuza's eyes widened for the last time as the sharp iron pierced his heart.

'What have you done', Kakashi was shaking his head dismally but Naruto didn't see it. He walked away, thinking about the content smile on Zabuza's face as he greeted death like an old friend, fighting for his village.

With no one to mourn him or remember his sacrifice, thus departed a true shinobi of Kirigakure, loyal to the last breath.

* * *

_**AN: So, I need to decide on a tutor for Naruto since Kakashi conveniently isn't in Konoha at the moment. What do you guys think it should be? **_


	17. Chapter 17

'Good job', said Mei Terumi to her genin, the day after her fight with the blonde Leaf genin. She would have done it right after, but suspicion was at an all time high and they were being watched constantly. Not really unexpected; she would have done the same if it was her village. 'What did you find out?'

'They were right', Harui replied, knowing that her sensei knew she was talking about the hunter-nins. 'He's a complete idiot. Acts before he thinks, speaks without really knowing the consequences. Horrible at taijutsu, knows virtually no ninjutsu other than the one clone jutsu. Has a little concept of strategic fighting though.'

She called his very rudimentary strategy of trying to flank her sides, and then attacks from the top. If he had had any sense, he would have known that an attack from her behind or underground would have been much better.

Mei Terumi nodded. That at least was consistent with the reports they had gotten from the hunter-nin who had witnessed the fight on the bridge. He would have disposed of Zabuza and Haku's body there and then, if he didn't think that the Leaf Jonins would put up a fight, if only to support their genin's impetuosity.

And as capable as the hunter-nin he was, he could not have taken Kakashi no Sharingan and the Genjutsu Mistress of Konoha and hope to come out of it alive. Not to mention, it would have a rather troublesome mess politically.

Even if Aoi didn't think much of the new hunter-nin, Mei was confident that he was at least capable. Especially since he made the right choice by retreating.

This way of doing it was much better. This at least gave them an avenue to pursue and try to convince the Hokage to help them.

'Does he know kenjutsu?' it was her other chunin who asked that, Chojuro who was a few years older than Harui. Why he insisted on such a long sword instead of a zanbato, she will never know.

'Not that I saw', replied Harui with a smirk. Not that she gave him a chance to properly use it. But she was testing his abilities as per her mission. And the blonde brat had failed miserably. 'If he did know kenjutsu, he would have blocked my sword with a katana rather than a kunai.'

Not to mention, even his kunai battling wasn't that good. All in all, he was a pathetic shinobi. Understanding her unstated conclusion, Chojuro frowned, 'Then how was he able to defeat Haku-san?'

Mei saw Harui's surreptitious glance towards the other occupant in the room and quickly interfered before she could get suspicious. 'It is possible that Haku went easy on children. He always was kind hearted.'

The Jonin had a suspicion about the boy, but she would need to talk to Harui in private to be able to confirm it. But it was too much of a risk, considering it was obviously a village secret and trying to uncover it could lead to disastrous consequences. At least when they were in the Leaf.

The Princess, Eboshi however was getting impatient with all this shinobi talk. She never could understand them, even if she had had shinobi bodyguards. And especially since Zabuza's attempt on her father's life.

What she wanted to know was if the boy could be useful to them. But only the Jonin could answer that. 'Is he malleable?' She chose her words carefully. With her status in life and certainly as a politician, it became second nature to them.

Harui and Chojuro took that as their queue to leave, seeing as the Princess wanted to talk their sensei in private. Truthfully, Harui had been surprised when her sensei had told them they were conscripted to guard the Princess on her trip to Konoha and back.

The only reason she had been left alive, was because it had taken great pains on part of her sensei to make the Kiri forces believe she had no Kekkei Genkai. The fact that she looked a little like Kaguya's made it especially harder for her. But given that she hadn't been found in the Kaguya clan compound after their rebellion and subsequent massacre made it plausible that she was just a bastard.

The Kaguya's were after all, famous for sleeping around with whores and prostitutes. So, it wasn't a stretch of imagination by any means. Even so, she was walking a very thin line, she knew. Even going to the Daimyo's palace was a great risk but she was confident her sensei would have been able to protect her.

It was a good thing that the Daimyo himself was not in the palace but had gone for a meeting with the Mizukage. Honestly, she had lost her cool in the fight with the blonde brat when he had insulted Yagura-sama.

Yes, she hated the man. As did almost half of the Kiri population but he was still her Kage. As such, she would not tolerate any outsider badmouthing her village or Kage. Especially not some blonde moron, wannabe shinobi who had killed one of the men who could have made Kiri better.

But what concerned her more was this Princess' idea of using the idiot. How could he be any use to them? He could barely keep up with her taijutsu without having to resort to clones. But it was not her place to question her sensei or the Princess.

However, now that she had had to use her bone manipulation to deal with the runt, no doubt the Konoha's bloodline greedy ninja would be wondering on how to use her. All she knew was that her sensei and the Princess believed that they could strike a valuable deal with Konoha. Which was why they had ordered her to demonstrate her abilities when they were being watched and make it look like she had been forced to do it in the fight.

All she could do now was train on her own and take turns in guarding the Princess while her sensei did her part, whatever that was.

Naruto was not sulking. No, he was absolutely not mad about his regrettable loss to the bone-girl. What the hell was that ability anyway. It was so freaky? Who the hell ever heard of people being able to pull their bones out to use them to fight?

No. He was no sulking. Instead, as he got ready to plan his escape from the hospital room, he was busy trying to analyse his fight. Yesterday, he had thoroughly examined his feelings about killing Zabuza. It turns out it wasn't actually murder like he had come to believe.

Zabuza had asked him to kill. It was a mercy killing. Who knows what the hell would the hunter-nins would have done to him had they caught him? It had taken a while, but Naruto had gotten himself to finally accept that it happened.

And that he did it for the best. Perhaps it was no the best way to go about it but for a formerly stupid, naïve, orange ninja this was as best as it could get for now. At least, that's what he was going to explain to Haku by way of an apology when he met him in the afterlife.

Not that he was in a hurry to die. Grumbling at his injuries, sore bones and ribs, he took the chance to curse the Yondaime and the Kyubi for good measure.

The damn fox had refused to heal his injuries on principle. Apparently, the egotistical fox was mad at him for having lost to bone-girl. Apparently, it was a shame for him to be stuck in such a weak container.

However, Naruto had gotten better in retreating to his mindscape and being able to talk to the fox. Not that fox liked it. In fact, the mountain sized demon hated it when Naruto visited.

As was the case now.

'Oi fox!' Naruto pointed a finger at the orange fox inside the cage. 'If you're so mad about me losing, why don't you heal my injuries so I can get stronger?'

Kyubi opened one of his lazy eyes, and took in the sight of his miserable container standing outside his cage, yet again.

'Pathetic mortal!' Kyubi snarled. 'I wouldn't give you my chakra for all the fresh human meet in the world!'

Naruto however wasn't going to back down. 'I'm not asking for your chakra or power, baka-fox! I can get plenty strong on my own!'

Why did he have to be stuck with the most stubborn Biju in existence, he would never know. Neither would the Kyubi deign to tell him why he attacked Konoha in the first place, ending with them being shackled together, for a lack of a better word.

The beast snorted, and malicious orange chakra swirled around momentarily before disappearing. 'Perhaps by your foolish human standards and not even that apparently, given you're abysmall performance. But you can never get to be as powerful as a Biju!'

No human could. The Kyubi chose to not mention it to his container that there was only who was more powerful than any biju in the world. But he was long dead and gone, leaving his creations to roam the earth.

Naruto bristled at the insult. It was true that he wasn't yet strong. Or that Sasuke could have beaten the bone-girl without much trouble. But he doubted the trouble part. As good as the bastard regrettably was, she was a year older than them and had more field experience.

She may have defeated him with taijutsu alone, but he was not going to let that stop him. He gave the fox a dirty look and replied, 'Yes I will. You'll see one day. I'm Naruto Uzumaki and I never –'

The rest of his usual speech was drowned out by the large snort from the fox, 'No, you're not!'

What? What does that even mean?

Naruto hated that even the damn fox was so cryptic. Really, was it just a side-effect of age that makes people go all riddle-like.

Apparently, the fox heard his thoughts, and growled, 'Don't you dare compare me to those mortals, insolent brat! I am the Kyubi-no-Yoko, the leveller of mountains with a swish of my tail. The most hateful, powerful Biju in –'

'Yes yes, I know', Naruto cut him off just like the fox had interrupted him earlier. It wasn't the first time he was hearing Kyubi's boasts about his power. And he needed answers before the fox could get into one of his rants. 'What do you mean I'm not Naruto Uzumaki?'

By his earlier statement, it seemed that the Kyubi knew something about his heritage. At first, Naruto had the almost insane, and inane idea that perhaps he was the Yondaime's son. He had seen the man's portrait in the Hokage's office often enough.

But now thinking about, it didn't seem that likely. Or else wouldn't the villagers have noted the resemblance between their hero and the person they hated most.

Kyubi snorted, 'You underestimate the stupidity of humans! Or strength of their hatred, brat!'

Naruto resisted to tell him it was the pot calling the kettle black and settled for asking him the question about his heritage again.

'Why should I even help you? You mean nothing to me!' the Kyubi levelled him with a channelling stare, one that was meant to intimidate and scare, with those razor-sharp teeth bared.

'You remember the deal we made', Naruto reminded him by way of an explanation.

'It is highly unlikely you will ever be able to achieve such a feat', Kyubi closed his red eye again. 'Don't you have something else to do than annoy me, insect!'

Naruto knew he should be going but he was too curious. And by now, he had gotten mostly used to Kyubi's insults.

'I'm not leaving until you tell me!' Naruto remained steadfast, vaguely wondering how smart an idea it was to challenge the fox in his mind.

Kyubi glared at his jailer in hatred and rage. If only he could get at the blonde rat, he would squish this annoyance under his paw. Maybe then he could get out of this infernal seal. But the bastard Yondaime had created it too strong.

Not only was it strong, but it was siphoning off a little of his own chakra and pumping it into the rat's chakra system, trickle by trickle. Not that the Kyubi would ever run out of chakra. He would regenerate the amount lost to the insect from nature energy itself. Such was the genius of his creator.

That didn't mean he liked the current arrangement. Well, he had his revenge… for now. As a result, the brat's chakra system was almost always in flux. It was highly amusing to see the brat work on this so called 'chakra control exercises' of these humans and then fail to get the results.

That was until the rat had sensed it the source of constant flux his system was in. Begrudgingly, the demon fox had to admit that it took some talent to even pinpoint his own chakra fluctuations when they occurred and follow them to the source; without having any sensory training beforehand. Not that he would ever tell this stubborn annoying fool that.

It was a long while when the beast replied with resigned frustration. 'You may have been born of, and carried by that Uzumaki bitch, and you may have that accursed Uzumaki blood but you are not an Uzumaki!'

Even though this was all happening inside his head, and not physically, Naruto felt the vein in his head throbbing at the troublesome, damn fox being so damn cryptic. After all, even if it was happening inside his head, it didn't mean it wasn't real.

'That makes no sense whatsoever', Naruto grumbled, glaring at the fox who had retreated further into his cage. Wait, what did he just say? Bitch?

'HEY!' Naruto yelled angrily, pointing a finger at him. 'My mother was not a bitch!'

'She was a lying, deceiving bitch! Now get lost!', Kyubi snarled, and with a push and a sudden headache, Naruto was back in the physical world.

'Damn fox. He's confused me even more', Naruto growled, gathering his things and testing out his arms and sides.

It was still troubling him but it was nothing he couldn't handle. The healer had healed him after all, no doubt on orders of the old man. They would never be so kind to me him of their own accord.

Che. Foolish villagers. He protects them from the Kyubi and this what he gets for his troubles. The fox had made it no secret that should he ever get out from within Naruto's body, the first thing he would do was to destroy Konoha.

Now that he thought of it, was the fox even a he? The foxes must have genders since they procreate, therefore needed one male and one female. But from what Naruto knew of tailed beasts, they were essentially a mass of chakra. Did that mean they had genders?

If they were born from something – logic stated it must have been a similar tailed beast – then it must have a gender. Since a fox can't be born from a snake and vice versa.

But if that was true, then how the fuck was he born from an Uzumaki with Uzumaki blood but not be an Uzumaki!

All that circular thinking was doing his head in and he needed to train to get his mind off of the recent revelations and troubles. And so, Naruto opened the window to his room and jumped out without a thought.

A few civilians gave exclamations of shock but he cared not. After all that training on trees whilst sticking leaves to him and what not, he could now channel chakra to his feet subconsciously and keep it constant.

Could that be the reason he was unable to walk on water, he wondered. Because he was subconsciously keeping the chakra level constant. Even though his mind was troubled by this news of him not being an Uzumaki, it didn't really matter in the end.

He hadn't known about his parents before the fox had told him this. Why did it matter now? Naruto knew it didn't but that didn't help the pang of hurt in his chest. Like a feeling of losing something and not knowing why it hurt when he didn't even like it.

Was it just him or had the whispers of the villagers increased in the day since he had been in the hospital?

One surreptitious look at the surrounding gossipers told him that it wasn't just his imagination. They were definitely more active in their gossiping. He scoffed mentally at their stupidity. Didn't they have anything better to do with their time. Like go to work or something.

They were probably whispering about how he got his handed to him by some no-name Kiri kunoichi. Of course, it didn't matter to them that she had more experience as a genin.

More than a year's in fact. And that he had only been a genin for a little more than two months. It didn't matter that she clearly had some bloodline limit that allowed her to weaponize her bones. It was so unfair that they have this advantage.

NO! Stop whining, he admonished himself. All he was doing was making excuses for his own weakness. A bloodline didn't guarantee that a shinobi would be powerful. After all, the Sandaime was one of the most powerful shinobi alive and he had no bloodline limit. And neither did Danzo, from what he could tell. And he was clearly quite strong too. If in a different way than the third Hokage.

Which reminded him, he needed to go and see if he could find the cyclops again. He had questions for him. But Naruto was under no delusion to think it was his choice. Danzo would be found when he wanted to be found.

Enough of this bitching, Uzumaki! Time to get started on training. And with that decision made, Naruto shed his clothes until he was in his boxers and stepped into the calm stream water. Already his hands were making the shadow clone seal, as if independent from thought.

Kurenai sat in the dango shop with her friend, Yugao Uzuki. Today was one of the few days where they were both on their off days together. Kurenai, being a Jonin sensei was almost always with her team, either doing missions or training.

And Yugao… well that was classified. But they had been friends for so long and made it a point to get together at least once or twice a week with each other. After all, both had been on the same genin team.

And it was that topic that was being discussed between the raven-haired beauty and the equally – if in a different way – purple haired beauty sitting opposite her.

'So, what really happened?' Kurenai asked, knowing full well that her friend couldn't give her all the details but she must be able to tell her something. The village was ripe with the fresh gossip. And she needed to be aware of it since she predicted some sort of response from her genin.

Yugao took another elegant sip from her sake cup before answering, 'Not much really. We were following the girl but hadn't expected her to seek out the boy. They got into some argument about Zabuza's honour.'

Kurenai scoffed at that ridiculous statement, and Yugao smirked. 'What honour?'

Yugao smiled, 'Yes well they seemed to be under that mistaken impression.'

As if a monster like Zabuza, the Demon of the Mist; the one who had slaughtered an entire graduating class of genin before he was even in the academy, could have any honour.

'Anyway, before we knew it, they were fighting', Yugao shrugged noncommittally. 'It wasn't anything spectacular honestly.'

'And you didn't stop them?!' Kurenai asked, shocked that her friend could just sit there and do nothing. 'What would sensei…'

'It wasn't our job!' Yugao answered vehemently, but then softened her tone seeing the eyes of her friend. She didn't like talking about their ex-sensei. Neither of them did, in fact. 'Besides, it was just a spar. It wasn't getting out of hand until she revealed her kekkei genkai.'

'She has a bloodline?'

That shocked Kurenai more than anything else in the story. The fact that Naruto had lost wasn't all that surprising honestly. What else did he expect when fighting a genin who lived in a village embroiled in civil war, and with at least a year's more experience than him.

'Hmmm', Yugao nodded, sounding a little impressed in fact. 'A sort of bone ability. Really handy honestly. She's clearly skilled in kenjutsu too.'

Now Kurenai was impressed. Whilst Kurenai and Yugao hadn't been on the same genin cell, they had shared the same sensei… sort of. While Yugao had been partially trained by her sensei in the basics of kenjutsu before her premature death, Kurenai had learnt the basics of Fuinjutsu from the same kunoichi, which she had later built upon to apply to her own speciality.

That was the reason she had been able to subdue Yakumo Kurama's inner demon from taking over and seal its powers. But she refused to think about the ex-student. It was no time for that. Neither was bringing up Yugao's genin cell a good idea. Her friend tended to get a little broody and frankly murderous, whenever it came up.

And the reason for those murderous thoughts was really not a good idea to even ponder on. Even if said reason was her other friend; a point of contention between her and Yugao, that they had agreed to disagree on.

Not to mention, like Yugao, her boyfriend was also a kenjutsu master who had taken her as an apprentice. So, if Yugao commented of someone's skill with kenjutsu, they must clearly have it.

After all, she was trained in the basics by 'Red Hot Habanero', also known as 'Konoha's Red Death' and then by Hayate in his special style.

Yugao however was thinking what her sensei would have said had she witnessed the disappointing 'fight'.

'Honestly, I can't believe the boy is so weak', Yugao said after a moment's silence, thinking back on the fight. There hadn't been a single moment where he had control of the fight. Even while attacking, he was immediately pushed on the defensive.

'I saw, on the Wave mission. That's a bit of Kakashi's fault as well', Kurenai was nothing if not fair. Truly, she had not been impressed by Naruto's or Sakura's skills. But at least, the kunoichi had remarkable chakra control. Not surprising, given her reserves. But still. The boy however, had nothing noteworthy in his skill repertoire.

'How so?' Yugao asked, wondering what her senpai could have done.

'I gave my team a mission to gather intel on team 7 during their training. With Kakashi's permission of course', Kurenai then told her friend of how Kakashi wasn't training Naruto much, and that the boy was still stuck on the basics.

'Surprising', Yugao's eyes widened. How was her ex-sensei's son so useless? 'You mean to tell me he was still practising his kunai and shuriken throwing?'

Kurenai nodded sadly. Honestly, she had expected more from Kakashi's team. At this rate, they would clearly not be ready for the exam in six months' time. But surely Kakashi knew this and would want to recommend them anyway.

At this point, the only one worthy of taking the exam on Team 7 was the Uchiha. But that was because he was an Uchiha. And Itachi's brother. That was hardly surprising.

But that was all they talked of disappointing genin of this generation before they turned towards more interesting topics. Namely, their dating lives.

'So….', Yugao wiggled her eyes at her friend, who had the unfortunate nickname – or fortunate depending on how one looked at it – of being called the 'Ice Queen of Konoha'.

'So, what?' Kurenai shifted uneasily, knowing that look in her friend's eyes. That never bode well when she had rejected yet some other man who had asked her out.

'Oh, come on tell me!' Yugao pouted those plump lips covered in purple lipstick. Any other man would have been flattened right away. To Kurenai however, it did nothing but getting her to narrow her eyes.

'Fine', she sighed, knowing that Yugao would not stop asking until she got at least some decent answer. 'He asked me out.'

Yugao however, didn't react as she expected her to. Instead of the excited squeal, there was a certain gleam in the dangerous kunoichi's eyes, who was holding herself back from smirking.

'I know', Yugao answered smugly.

'What… what do you mean… oh', Kurenai then resisted the urge to face palm herself. Of course, she already knew. Asuma was friends with Hayate after all.

'But why did you say no?' Yugao inched her face forwards. Instead of the curiosity that was in most kunoichi's eyes when they asked the same question, there was only a seriousness there.

Kurenai sighed, 'I don't know Yugao-chan. I guess he's just not my type, you know.'

Yugao nodded, 'Okay… but exactly what is your type?', she asked, already knowing the answer. But the truth was, the guy her friend probably still had a thing for had too many demons of his past. Asuma was exactly what she needed. If only Kurenai could see that.

'You know. Powerful, cool. Kind hearted, loyal and most of all respectful of women', the raven haired Jonin answered, knowing full well what a terrible answer that was.

Yugao sighed, cursing Jiraiya for the millionth time for starting that accursed, perverted series of his. It has seemingly turned most men in Konoha into giant perverts which has severely lessened the number of potential dating partners for single women, especially kunoichi like Kurenai.

Some, she was aware had no problem with her partners reading that awful trash. Namely, one snake lady she hated. But they were a minority.

'Anyway, you said you had something important to ask me?' Yugao asked after some more idle chit chat.

Kurenai nodded, sipping her tea and trying to decide how to carefully word her request. She had thought about it quite a lot lately. True, it had been a concern of hers when she was given her team but now it was obvious that Hinata needed much more individual attention.

And Kurenai had been pondering on the dilemma more, ever since her team had given her the report on Team 7 actually. While she wasn't doing what Kakashi was doing with Uzumaki, the effect was somewhat the same.

And while Uzumaki's training and education was entirely the cyclops' business, she could do something about Hinata.

'What is it?' Yugao prodded her friend, seeing as she was taking an inordinate amount of careful time thinking about her request. That was probably because it wasn't the norm and would include more than a few hurdles. She wasn't an elite ninja of Konoha for nothing.

'Let's walk and talk', Kurenai said after a little while of silence and Yugao immediately knew this was serious if she wanted to keep it on the down low.

And so, two kunoichi walked out of the dango, ignoring the leering of some ninja and more than a few civilian men. No one of course would try anything with either of them, knowing their reputation for being dangerous to the health of perverts.

Truth to be told, Yugao wasn't the first person she had thought to ask help. There was another quite dangerous kunoichi who had occurred to her first. But she had discarded that idea almost as soon as she had had it. The Hyugas would have a fit, considering their history with her.

'It's my genin, Hinata Hyuga', she began, sighing. Might as well get it over with. Or she could ask Guy for help. But considering the fact that he was already the Jonin-sensei in charge of the branch Hyuga, that was an even more terrible idea. And something had clearly been troubling Hinata over the last week. She was much more subdued than normal and didn't speak as much during training or even missions.

Then, all of a sudden, she had gotten better the day before. Right after the meeting in the Hokage's office, actually. Kurenai was curious so naturally she did some surveillance.

And lo and behold, it turns out that her genin, who did nothing without first asking her father or Kurenai herself had put in a request for a tutor for herself. She didn't know if Hiashi knew about it yet, but shit would surely hit the fan when he did find out.

She couldn't for the life of her understand where she had gotten the idea, or why she hadn't come to her for it first. But it was better to do damage control before it got back to the Hyuga council.

'The one who faints every time she's near Uzumaki', Yugao smiled fondly. 'So sweet. But what about her?'

Kurenai turned to watch her friend's response as she replied, 'I need a tutor for her. She needs individual attention and I can't give her that without very mitigating circumstances.'

Yugao nodded thinking about the diminutive Hyuga she had met two days ago, already knowing that doing so was frowned upon by the Hokage and the council. Even if said council was a little hypocritical at times.

'She definitely needs more help. Hardly the picture of a kunoichi….' She said before the meaning her friend's words registered to her.

As her senpai says, look underneath the underneath. And she groaned in exasperation and shook her head with a resounding, 'No!'


	18. Chapter 18

'Hinata, please stay', Kurenai said to her when they were done with team training and missions for the day.

Kiba and Shino hesitated for a moment, sharing a concerned look with each other and looking towards Hinata before the ever logical Aburame pulled the brash one along with him.

She could tell that her genin were getting antsy, being stuck in the village. She had already told them that she would not take them on anything more challenging than a bodyguard or escort mission, given the debacle of the last one. It was a minor miracle that all of them came out of the encounter with the monster of the mist, intact.

Although, she supposed that maybe it was time for another C-rank mission. They had done enough D-ranks in the two months they'd been genin to merit a C-rank. The previous A-rank mission notwithstanding.

But first, she needed to know what to do with her shy genin. Honestly, she was the one person Kurenai was most scared for on the Wave mission, even though she had relegated Hinata to guarding Tazuna with Sakura.

Kurenai wondered how to broach the subject without making her even more intimidated of authority figures. But it needed to be done. When she was sure that both Shino and Kiba were out of earshot, she asked, 'Why didn't you tell me before requesting a tutor?'

Hinata flinched at the accusatory tone, making Kurenai grimace. She supposed it came out too strong.

The Hyuga in question winced, knowing this question had been coming. It was impossible for a Jonin as dedicated as Kurenai-sensei to not learn of it. Despite her best efforts to resist it, she wiggled her fingers together as stuttered a hasty reply, 'S-sensei…. I… didn't want…'

Kurenai's eyes widened for a second, feeling a little hurt if she was being honest. This was most certainly not like her Hinata. 'You didn't want to tell me?'

Hinata's fearfully widened eyes gazed at her sensei's accusation, cursing herself for offending her. 'N-no, sensei… I didn't want…' she stuttered trying to get her point across.

But as always Kurenai was waiting patiently for her answer, though there was something akin to a slight anger in her eyes, though it was carefully hidden. But Hinata wasn't a Hyuga for nothing.

'Well?' Kurenai prodded her genin, wanting to know her reason before she decided to inform Hinata of the solution she had come up with. Or perhaps a punishment… whichever was deserved.

'I… I didn't want you to get in trouble…. with outo-sama', Hinata murmured, her eyes still downcast, fixed on the floor.

And just like that, the anger Kurenai had in her eyes fled, replaced by a much more potent annoyance at the mention of that insufferably proud Hyuga Head.

She sighed looking at her student. It was really sweet of Hinata to do this but she couldn't have this. She needed her to realise this, 'Hinata… while I am glad you told me the truth, but you have to know that it's the job of the sensei to protect her charges. Not the other way around. Am I understood?'

Hinata nodded and winced, but still didn't take her eyes off the ground. 'Yes, sensei.' She let out a barely audible sigh of relief. Hinata really had been expecting something worse.

'Although, I have to ask, how did you find out about this?' Kurenai was curious to know. It wasn't like the Hyuga clan to even consider thinking an outsider for help. Even their tutors were clan-members. That and genin generally weren't made aware of this loophole. It undermined their Jonin-sensei's efforts and could cause a clash between training regimes. 'Did one of your clan members tell you about it?'

'N-no…' Hinata stammered, trying desperately to come up an answer that didn't throw someone she cared about under the proverbial tractor. 'I-I heard chunins talking about it…'

Kurenai hadn't expected Hinata to suddenly looked panicked, even though the girl did try to hide it commendably. But Kurenai wasn't a Genjutsu Mistress at that, for nothing. Being observant much more than the average Jonin was part of her speciality.

While what she said could very well be the reason, she doubted it. Kurenai didn't need to be told in spoken words, but Hinata's sudden lack of answers and protectiveness could only have stemmed from one source.

_Uzumaki. _

Somehow, for some reason, this sudden outburst of subtle rebellion against the traditions of the Hyuga, and the initiative to get a tutor, had something to do with the blonde who had the gall to wear that orange monstrosity and still call himself a shinobi. She would have to find out exactly how he was involved.

She didn't think it was so, but if the boy was encouraging Hinata to hide things from her teammates and sensei, like he clearly was doing so himself, then she would have to take action. She couldn't afford to have disunity in her unit, especially one sowed by someone else.

However, Kurenai didn't think confronting her on it would do any good at this point. In fact, it may even backfire with what she was attempting to do with the shy girl. And so, the raven-haired Jonin let it slide, just this once.

Seeing Hinata was beginning to retreat within herself, thinking she had angered her yet again, Kurenai began, softening her voice. 'As it happens, I think you were not entirely wrong to do so.'

'S-sensei?' came the stammering response.

Hinata's shock was clearly written on her face and Kurenai winced internally. Just another point for her tutor to work at. Hinata gave away way too much without even speaking to ever be considered a proper ninja.

Kurenai started walking towards the village proper, prompting Hinata to follow without even asking her to. 'While I would like to help you more, I can't give you individual attention and spend more time training you than Shino and Kiba. It wouldn't be fair to them. And it is clear, you think so yourself or you would have asked me for more training.'

Hinata nodded accepting her reasons. She didn't think it was wise to tell her sensei that Hinata thought they were so different in specialities that she would learn much more from someone similar. In fact, she was hoping that a branch member Hyuga saw the mission and opted to train her for some extra cash.

She then, would only have to convince them not to ask her father for permission.

'But I do want to know you how you even have the money to pay for the mission, Hinata', Kurenai finished, looking sideways to her genin, whose eyes were almost bulging out of her head.

So, she had been right. Hinata didn't have a way to pay for the mission she had filed for… yet.

'F-from my savings, sensei', Hinata managed to get out. 'I… have some money saved.'

Kurenai nodded, 'Good.'

Her worst fears weren't coming true then. Hinata wasn't borrowing money from someone else that she didn't have. She knew that some loan sharks in Konoha and Fire Country would not hesitate to advantage of the young girl and wanted to protect her inexperienced charge from doing something so stupid.

Hinata didn't to think what would happen if word got out that she was asking an outsider for help before she even managed to get a tutor. She knew her father would be mad, but when she signed the contract however, the Hyuga clan would be honour bound to oblige it.

At least, that was her thought process when she had, admittedly, quite impulsively filed the mission request. It had been two days and still nothing came, however, and the already shaky confidence in her plan was beginning to crumble.

That was until she heard her sensei say, 'I have someone who is willing to train you when I asked them to.'

Hinata whipped her head to her sensei, so fast that she thought she might get a whiplash, eyes wide and heart beating soundly, 'R-really?'

By now they were in the main town square of Konoha and were heading towards the multitude of cafes and restaurants owned by rich merchants and civilians.

'Yes', Kurenai nodded, before adding seriously. 'But I must tell you about her beforehand', motioning towards the seat the table.

Hinata immediately sat down and obeyed, giving her sensei her utmost attention, knowing this could very well change her life for the better or make it even worse. Though, she found it hard to believe that it could get any worse than it already was.

'Your tutor, if she accepts you… will be my friend who is also a Jonin.'

Hinata winced upon learning there will be another test. Her internal fears of further rejection surfacing profoundly, threatening her composure and urging her to bolt away from the table. Kurenai had no choice in training her because she had been assigned a team. That however wouldn't be the case with this new teacher.

What Kurenai-sensei said to her however, changed her expression from attentive, to surprised and then to disbelief. 'She is one of the strongest, and most dangerous kunoichi currently in service.'

Seeing that she had Hinata's undivided attention – even if it was clouded by anxiety – Kurenai continued, mentally debating how much to inform her young charge.

After all, part of her friend's description was classified information. But Hinata needed to know just who was going to be tutoring her. And that it wouldn't be free either. But she wasn't a Jonin for nothing. An ability to spin words to her advantage was basically an unofficial clause in her job description.

Hinata's belief turned into shock as she registered her sensei's words, 'Your tutor was trained by one of Konoha's best ANBU. If she accepts you, she will not go easy on you just because you are Hiashi Hyuga's daughter.'

Hinata could barely 'eep' and only managed to vigorously nod her head, already the thought of disappointing her new tutor seeming like threat upon her head.

If that tutor was as great a kunoichi like Kurenai-sensei says she is, why would she even train a weakling like her?

'_What would Naruto-kun do?'_ Hinata asked herself. He would never be as scared as she was now but he would be anxious. That much she had learnt about him. But he would never allow that anxiety to beat him down.

But before she could respond with anything else, someone appeared right next to her sensei, already seated, as if materialising from thin air. Hinata flinched back at the sudden appearance, not the least bit shocked that she hadn't even sensed her arrival.

Honestly, why would a weakling genin like be able to sense someone to strong. But she did recognise the woman with wide eyes as she took in the long, gorgeous purple air cascading down from the woman's head.

For how could she not. This was the same ANBU from two days ago. The same woman Naruto-kun was…. appreciating.

And for the first time when looking at someone other than Sakura-san, Hinata felt something akin to slight… jealousy.

'Hinata, meet my friend, Yugao Uzuki. Your new tutor.'

'Aacckk! Acckh!', Naruto got himself out of the hot water of the onsen.

'Dammit. Not again', he grumbled, attempting to stand up again. He had been at this for almost an hour, having come to the onsen after the water of the stream had proven unbearably cold. After all, how the hell was he supposed to do any training if he was frozen to the bone.

True, the manager had taken more than the standard fees than they usually charged, but it was still less than one D-rank. And Naruto was determined to have it down pat on this one visit. And the view wasn't that bad honestly.

Word had gotten around that he was in this one and only a couple of shinobi were present, the civilians having left as soon as he had arrived. At least now, he could train in peace.

With that, he made a ram seal and channelled chakra towards his feet once again, determined to get it done before baka-Kakashi returned from Wave. Seeing as they didn't have a civilian with them this time, it would probably only take them less than two weeks for the mission. And from previous experience of having to learn tree walking, it would probably take him a week to get it done.

But that was unacceptable. He had more shit to do and couldn't afford to spend all his time on this bloody chakra control exercise.

He could hear the three shinobi snickering behind him, making no effort to be subtle. Whether it was because it was the 'demon brat' who couldn't stand on water, Naruto neither knew nor cared. But he had heard one of their off-hand comments.

'What a dead last', one of them said, looking like an Inuzuka.

The other one added, 'Can't even do something so simple.'

The third laughed aloud before making his own contribution, 'Seriously. He can't even make a bunshin. What makes him think he can do this!'

This prompted another round of laughter from the three jerks. He would show them, Naruto thought viciously. He would show them all. Even if no one was here to teach him. Even if baka-Kakashi had taught Sasuke this and not him.

'Hey, brat! Just give up. It's clearly above you!' said the Inuzuka.

Naruto growled, 'Piss off!' glaring at the three before turning his focus back onto the water.

Should he take a break for some inspiration? Hmmm….

No, no. Not yet. If he did that, then he was liable to waste more time.

Once more he got out of the bath onto the stone side, and made a ram seal. But before he could get onto the water again, he heard the three idiots gasping. Naruto was tempted to yell at them again before he heard a different voice, this time definitely feminine. And one he instantly recognised.

'Shit!' Naruto yelped, clearly surprised how the hell she got in.

'You know… that's not how you do it', said Mei Terumi, having walked into the male side of the onsen, dressed in a tight one piece.

Spluttering and coughing, Naruto got his head out of the hot water, to see the beautiful Kiri kunoichi standing there, looking like a pervert's wet dream come true.

Naruto's eyes almost bulged out before he shook his head, her words registering to his addled brain. 'What do you mean?' he asked, narrowing his eyes at her, careful not to stare at her generous bust.

He could see that the three ninjas were making no such effort and were shamelessly staring at her. Stares which she effortlessly ignored.

What the hell was she doing in the male baths? And what did she want with him? Hadn't her student tried to kill him just yesterday.

'You know, I could help you with that', Mei said, appreciating the child's effort to not stare at her, unlike the other three perverts. Was it because of some honour or if he was scared of her, she didn't know. But he must have taken something after his sensei, other than his talent for the shinobi arts of course.

Kakashi no Sharingan was an infamous pervert, after all. Not on the level of that bastard Jiraiya but then again, that wasn't possible.

Naruto was now even more suspicious and more than a little annoyed that she interrupted her training. Why would she help him?

'Why?' he asked, not wanting to be as stupid as he was the last the time, he had encountered a Kiri shinobi. 'I thought you were working for the Mizukage and I made it clear I don't like him?'

Mei sighed, stepping elegantly onto the water and standing on it as if she didn't even need to think about it. Rather like Kakashi and Zabuza when they fought on the lake.

'Yes. But right now, I'm a guest of Konoha. And we're ninja, Naruto-san', she smiled sweetly at the boy. 'We work for one client one day and against them the next day, depending on our mission.'

Naruto grumbled under his breath. Yes, he had already gotten that lesson on that stark reality of their profession. 'But why would you help me?'

The three idiots gasped and Naruto's eyes widened as the Jonin sank slowly and gradually in the water. Naruto gulped, feeling his face heat up and it certainly didn't have anything to do with the temperature of the bath.

Still smiling sweetly at him, the woman brought her hands in the ram seal, 'Kai', she said.

'Aaah!' Naruto yelped in shock, and covered his eyes with his hand, seeing the swimsuit disappear from her body. He could hear the idiots gasping in shock.

'Aww you're too sweet', Mei said, slowly walking towards the edge of the pool and sitting on the seat by the side. 'Go on, I won't stop your training', she motioned with her hand.

Naruto shook his head to get the fuzzy feeling out of it, and realised his mouth was still gaping. Hurriedly, he closed with an audible clank of teeth, making her giggle.

'O…okay', Naruto nodded, and looked anywhere but where she was sitting quite naked and relaxed as if in the privacy of her own home. Naruto knew from previous experience that if he so much as looked anywhere near her bust, he would be in a world of pain.

As such, he studiously avoided even glancing in her direction. He mentally scratched the need for inspiration. Now, he couldn't even risk it lest he be trampled by an irate Kiri Jonin. Even though she had said she was going to help, her presence there, watching him like a hawk, was more detrimental and distracting than anything else.

'How did you get in here anyway?' Naruto asked, having fallen in yet again and emerged from the water. Her absurdly long hair was flown to her sides as if separate entities. It frankly, made her look a little scary, if she wasn't naked that is, even though he couldn't see anything.

Nope. He certainly hadn't tried to look at anything. Nothing at all. And he most certainly wasn't trying to look at her from the corner of her eyes. He was just suspicious she might try something.

Mei giggled at the innocent boy's question. Poor boy really hadn't gotten anything from Kakashi no pervert. 'You have no idea, Naruto. The things men would do when they're thinking with their _other_ head.'

Naruto was even more confused than before. As far as he knew, men only had one head. The three idiots coughed quite exaggeratedly, and one even looked a little offended.

'Now look here lady…!' the Inuzuka started and made to move forward, but immediately silenced himself upon one glare of the woman, and halted in his place, cowed like a dog.

Half an hour later, and Naruto still wasn't getting anywhere near to standing on water, let alone walking on it. And this woman here had made it look so damn easy. How the hell had she done it? Maybe… maybe he could ask her. She had offered to help, after all.

'You mentioned you could help me with this…', Naruto motioned towards the water, his pride not allowing him to say anymore. She was after all from a different village.

'I could, of course…' she nodded sagely, keeping her eyes on those startlingly blue orbs of the young boy. Even if she was a bit…. open with men, the boy was quite a little too young for her tastes. Besides, it was obvious he had no clue about women.

'What is the difference between a tree and water?' she asked him, knowing that by now the three ninjas had left, presumably to report her. Oh whatever. Its not like she had committed a crime anyway. And she wasn't even planning anything sinister… yet.

Naruto scratched his head, trying to remember what Kakashi had told them when teaching them water walking.

But before he could remember the whole lesson, she interrupted his train of thought, 'It's quite a simple answer, Naruto-kun.'

Naruto now didn't miss the added honorific and was immediately on edge. No one called him except the Hokage and sometimes Hinata. Was it just his imagination or had her eyes gleamed with… Something as she said the last part?

But she asked for a simple answer. Hmmm.

Well the obvious one was, 'One has a stationary surface and the other isn't.'

Mei smiled, 'Good. That's right. So, what does that mean for your chakra?' She had already figured that this boy's education hadn't been the most stellar and that she would need to explain it to him in quite simpler terms than what she used with her own genin. That is if she wanted him to be able to do what she needed.

There were other alternatives, after all. But this was by far the safest. Even if it took a little longer. Not to mention, it was the more intriguing one.

'That it can't be stationary either', the boy answered, his vibrant blue orbs settled on her green ones.

She nodded again, 'Sort of, yes. Chakra is never stationary but I think what you mean to say is, that you can't channel a constant, or same amount of chakra to your feet when you're on the water. You have to regulate it, according to and depending on the movement of the surface of the water.'

Naruto nodded, 'Of course! That makes sense!'

Mei smirked and shook her head as the boy face palmed, presumably cursing himself for his stupidity. No wonder he had lost against Harui. Even if his taijutsu was as awful as Harui reported, he was definitely not chunin material, she mused. Perhaps the copy-ninja would not recommend his team considering how green they are.

But if everything went according to plan, she might even get to see another fight between Harui and Naruto.

She then explained the theory behind channelling chakra, whether inside a moving medium like liquid or air, or a stationary object such as the earth or the tree.

'You see', Mei said, knowing that she had the boy's attention, even if the poor boy was distracted by her bust. But then again, that was sort of the point of this little interaction of theirs. 'There's a theory that chakra travels –'

'As a wave but interacts like a particle. The Wave-Particle duality theory. I know', Naruto replied offhandedly as he shifted his focus back on the chakra pooling at his feet.

In his research on chakra theory, he had read over a couple of scrolls which were way beyond his understanding yet. But that was they had talked about. However, it wasn't what was written on said scrolls that was interesting. More interesting was the person who wrote them.

It was only when he didn't hear her reply that he turned to face her once again. Shock was clearly written on the woman's face and it was only then that Naruto realised the extent of his folly. Crap! He hadn't meant to say as much.

The woman's widened eyes shifted to a much more disturbing smirk.

It was Mei's turn to be truly surprised. The boy was clearly different than what he allowed others to see. She had had a suspicion before when she saw his outburst in the Hokage's office, and then his surprising initiative downstairs which Harui had also witnessed.

Clearly, there was much more to this boy than the idiot goofball others see him as. And she hadn't been a Jonin since when she was fourteen, for nothing.

It was however, shocking that his own sensei hadn't seen it. Or maybe, he had and ignored him to spur the boy on even more in his studies. Reverse psychology they called it. She could see how that would work.

But she neither had the time nor the inclination to use such a time-consuming strategy with him. Here she had a dilemma. She needed the boy somewhat strong to do what she was plotting. Yes, she needed what he had within him, but more importantly, she needed him to listen to her. On the other hand, if he got too smart and suspicious, her plan would go to shit.

But maybe… just maybe she can get him to trust her somewhat, thus eliminating the risk of the latter happening. And she only had probably a week to do it. Maybe a couple of days longer but that was it. They needed to do this fast.

She knew that Eboshi-sama would take care of things on her end, and succeed in making, if not an alliance, then at least a preliminary agreement with Konoha. When that happens, they needed to have their cards together to strike when the moment comes.

And to think, such important matters of state dependent on this innocent, clueless boy in front of her who couldn't even walk on water. The thought was troubling to say the least. But she had gathered enough information to know – and this most recent revelation just confirmed it – that he would not take well to any attempts to manipulating him without telling him some version of the truth. In fact, it may very well end up backfiring on them.

And so, with that decided, Mei glided forwards towards the boy who promptly lost concentration again upon her closeness.

'_This is going to be long',_ she sighed dejectedly to herself.

'Exactly. It travels as a wave. Therefore, you can channel it into your feet, and then vary the wavelength and frequency of said wave', seeing his confused expression, she realised he knew fuck all about science.

'Meaning, Naruto that if you visualise your chakra as a flowing wave of a sea, you can control the direction it travels and the speed it travels at. Have you ever seen waves?' she asked, closing in on him but staying tantalisingly far enough away from touching him.

'Unn hmm', Naruto nodded dumbly, wondering just what the fuck was going on. His brain was going in overdrive and he could hardly think. Never had a girl, or a woman, and a beautiful woman, looked like that at him.

Now he knew he wasn't the most attractive person in Konoha. In fact, many of the girls had gone outright to tell him that to his face. That alone raised suspicions in his head. He had no idea how to deal with whatever the hell she was doing.

Naruto found he couldn't look away from those captivating green eyes the woman was looking at him with or her smiling smirk. He had no idea it was possible to smile and smirk at the same time but apparently it was. And she made it look so easy.

Was it a genjutsu, he wondered, with his heart beating rapidly? Why the hell would she put him under one? Might as well try breaking it. He had always sucked with genjutsu theory. And so, without a moment's more thought, he bit down hard on his lips, drawing a sharp sting of pain and trickle of blood.

Mei giggled seeing his reactions. Yes, she was right. The boy knew nothing about guiles of women. The moment one nears him, he thinks it's a genjutsu. It was just too cute. She burst out laughing.

Naruto blinked stupidly, but he was shaken out of whatever it was she had done to him. And now she was laughing at him.

'I was only having some fun, Naruto-kun', Mei said, backing up slightly. 'But enough distractions. Time to get back to training, no?'

Naruto glowered at the insufferable woman and resisted the urge to tell her that it was her who was distracting him. 'Yes, let me get back to my training, please.'

She only giggled more, 'Please, continue. It's fascinating trying to watch you figure out a seemingly complex problem.'

Naruto closed his eyes, his hands in the ram seal and visualised his chakra. In his 'mind's eye' as he had begun calling it, he could sense the flux in his chakra pathway. _'Oi fox. We had a deal!'_

A deep, disturbing rumbling sound echoed in his mindscape which he immediately pegged as the bastard fox chuckling. But after a while, his chakra did stabilise. He would have to find a more permanent way of keeping his chakra in sync and preventing the fox from disrupting it any time it damn well pleased.

Otherwise, his chakra control would always remain shit. But now was not the time to wonder about such things, even if he wasn't in the midst of battle. The Ram seal, as Naruto had found from his experiments offered the greatest control of chakra, although snake and tiger weren't far off.

But it was harder to get it to that point with the Ram seal. At least for him. Unbeknownst to him, with his subtle change inside him, he had made Mei Terumi even more interested in figuring out the boy in front of her.

With that control, he then focused on the detecting the shifting waves of the water, and trying to get the chakra pooling at his feet to sync in with it. It took a few more tries certainly, and a few more times of getting out, spluttering and heaving like someone with bronchitis.

Naruto grinned, and for the first time in what felt like ages, he laughed out loud, 'Yatta!'

'I'm doing it! I'm standing on the water!' Naruto laughed and yelled, jumped and turned back and forth. He probably looked like an idiot, but he didn't care at moment. For he had just gotten his chakra to be in sync with the water and was now standing on top of it. Finally!

'Uh oh', Naruto's pleased grin turned to shock as he felt his one-foot slip.

'Ah shit!', soon he was tumbling down into the deep end of the bath yet again. But this time, when he resurfaced, his smile was back on his face, ready to train until he mastered the technique. Now that he understood what it felt it and knew how much chakra to use.

Mei had a pleased smile on her face as she nodded in acquiescence of his feat. It had only taken two hours since she had shown up here and in those two, hours the boy worked nonstop and tirelessly trying to control that massive amount of chakra he has.

Yes, her words had helped but ultimately, he had done it himself. In that moment, she realised she was proud of him. Proud of him for having done it without the aid of his sensei. Without anyone's aid, really. Proud of him for having figured it out himself.

'_He would go far in this world_', she told herself mentally, comparing him to a similar young boy she once knew, before he turned out to be crazy. That much was as clear to her as the fact that the Mizukage was insane. Another part of her whispered, _'He's going to be a threat!'_

But for once, she opted to silence that paranoid part of her, the part that was instilled in every good shinobi worth their salt. For now, she was content to watch the training of this charming young boy, who for all his posturing and brooding, found joy in the simplest of things.


	19. Chapter 19

For the first time in a month the villagers were unsettled. Unsettled because there was a smile on the blonde's face. Which blonde as there were many Yamanakas in the village? Well, there was only one blonde which could cause this sort of reaction from them. And he was no Yamanaka.

For more than a month, the general populace of Konohagakure had been spared from being targeted with a prank by their resident prankster from hell. And as history had shown them time and again, whenever there was a hiatus in pranks, it was always followed by one of greater intensity. For that halt meant that the hellion was plotting. And given his unpredictability, that was never a good thing.

But it was not only the smile on his face, but the date. And that coinciding was making the populace even more unsettled than usual. Their tension and anxiety were almost palpable as they gave him a wide berth on the streets. It even had the unexpected consequence of lessening the usual glares he was subjected to. Lest they be the unfortunate targets of some sinister prank.

Not that the boy knew or cared about the reason for their anxiety. As far as he was concerned, they were more fidgety than normal because of party from Kiri had been staying for a couple of days, with no sign of leaving.

He wasn't a complete ignoramus though. He knew, or rather had read recently, that Konoha's history with diplomatic parties wasn't the best. The most recent, of course, was Hinata's attempted abduction by Kumo ninja.

But he didn't let their suspicions get him down as he walked in the middle of the town square, hands behind his head, and smiled his mischievous, happy foxy grin for the first time in a month and meant it.

Because Naruto Uzumaki – well, contested Uzumaki for now – was happy. He wasn't happy because of some epiphany or a sudden confidence in his abilities. He wasn't happy because a few days ago he had learned to stand on water. He wasn't happy because the day before yesterday, he had finally mastered watered walking. Because Shadow Clones were much more useful for things other than researching topics.

Naruto wasn't happy because of a sudden realisation of who his parents were, because that was still very much a mystery to him. No, he was grinning like a loon because today was October 10th. Today was his birthday. And unlike a few years ago, where he used to hate this date, it had changed when he was eight going on nine.

Now, he actually looked forward to it. And the reason for that, was his mysterious well-wisher. The first time he had been visited by the person, he was over the moon and had cried for half a day. And every birthday since then – sometimes even halfway through the year – he would receive a package from the benefactor.

And Naruto treasured those more than anything. He cherished them more than the goggles the Hokage had gotten him for his fourth birthday. He treasured them more than his forehead protector which Iruka had given him – which was still lost and he had to get a new one.

Naruto knew he would get home tonight and find another package today. A sealed scroll. And Naruto couldn't wait for the day to be over. For they always leave them at nights. Naruto had tried to stay the day inside his apartment but even then, they would appear suddenly and magically, without anyone visibly appearing.

Of course, he now knew that they were using some invisibility jutsu. But now, he could perhaps sense them with his new abilities. More than that, Naruto hoped that this year, his gift would be something to do with training. Or be more useful.

Although, he had to admit that the customised sealing wallet, which only his chakra and blood could open, was pretty handy.

Naruto looked behind him and sighed but he didn't allow that to ruin his mood. Seriously? Did they really think that was enough to fool him? He was the king of pranks in the village!

'That is a good disguise, you guys', Naruto called out and almost immediately, the curtain painted to look like a fence split apart to show an explosion of a flash bomb, making a few civilians jump back in surprise.

The girl came first with orange hair tied with red ribbons into two very large pigtails, striking up a flirtatious pose, 'I'm Moegi, the sassiest kunoichi in pre-school. Check me out!'

'I love algebra! Call me Udon', the other boy exclaimed, striking a similar pose.

Naruto chuckled at his two shadows, shaking his head at their obvious attempt to copy him. To be honest, he was a little proud of them. Their stealth had gotten better. Much better than last time. At least they weren't using a square box of rocks to hide in now.

But where was the third shadow? He spied a familiar brown hair coming towards him hurriedly.

But then again, maybe their stealth needed more work, he mentally revised his statement seeing the 'boy'.

'Konohamaru', Naruto narrowed his eyes at his third shadow, who seemed to have attached his name to Naruto's own as a rival, without even asking for the blonde's opinion whatsoever.

Ah there he was, rushing towards them. 'I'm the number one ninja in town! Konohamaru, and when we're all together. We are the Konohamaru ninja squad.'

Naruto laughed out loud at their attempt at collaboration. Well at least they got the name same this time.

'That was an almost good transformation, Konohamaru.'

The nine-year-old boy sighed, 'Thanks boss. I know I still have to work on the technique.'

Naruto agreed, 'Maybe next time don't try to sneak up on me as a half-naked woman', he said with a smirk just as Moegi burst out laughing. Seriously, in what world would a woman be out on the street naked.

All four of them however ignored the muttered whispers of the 'demon brat ruining the honourable grandson'.

'So, whatcha doing here?' Naruto asked the three stooges. They were clearly up to something if the puppy dog look, they were preparing had anything to do with it.

And as expected, the three children all huddled together, put their hands together and gave him the puppy dog look, trying to their eyes look as big as possible.

'You're very busy these days, boss', Udon said, sniffling back his well… whatever it was.

Naruto sighed, knowing what they wanted, yet again. 'Well I am a genin now, you guys. Work comes with the job.'

Moegi looked sad for a moment before she asked, 'Well are you busy now?' with sparkling with hope.

'I am a little Moegi', Naruto wondered if he had ever been this innocent and carefree in his childhood. Probably not. This fucking village had driven it all away. He'd never had a childhood to begin with.

'What?!' Konohamaru exclaimed, eyes narrowing down. 'But you promised you'd play ninja with us.'

Naruto paled considerably, wincing as he remembered he actually did promise it to the kid. He chuckled, one hand scratching the back of his head, 'Hehe… that's right, I did. Didn't I?'

He didn't even know what the hell 'playing a ninja' meant. When he was younger, all the times he had wanted to play it with the other kids, they had all let him hide and never even bothered to find him. Maybe he should try one of Kakashi's excuses on them.

He was more sore than normal given that he had upped his training weights again. Guy had told him multiple times that for physical training, he needed to keep surprising his body by changing up his tactics. Otherwise he would plateau in his gains.

And even though he hadn't improved in his taijutsu yet, he refused to let his gains in stamina and endurance be halted just because he got lazy.

One at their hopeful and childishly innocent looks scraped that idea. But then another, better one popped into his head. It might even be fun and teach these brats something, if it didn't require him running around. He didn't thin his jellied legs and aching arms could handle it. Judging from the time of day, academy was still in session. Which meant they were truanting, yet again.

'Aha!' Naruto pointed to the three kids. 'I got it!'

'What, what?' Moegi pushed Konohamaru out of her way as he seemed to be blocking her view of Naruto.

'Did you think of a game boss?' asked the scarf wearing academy kid.

'As a matter of fact, I did', Naruto nodded sagely. But he couldn't explain it to them out in the open. 'Come, let's go somewhere private.'

The three kids trustingly followed their boss into a less crowded behind the town square market and into an alley, looking at him as if he was about to tell them the meaning of life.

Well, too bad. He had no intention of answering them a forty-two. 'I have a stealth game for you three.'

'Ahun ahun!'

'How do you play it boss?'

'Well that's simple', Naruto started. 'It means going into a place, or spying on someone without them finding out. We'll see how long it takes for you guys to be found out.'

'So, we'll be hiding from you?' Konohamaru asked, wondering what was different about this game from hide-and-seek.

'Yep. And not just me but also every other person who might suspect it's you', Naruto smiled at the three. 'Use your creativity. You can't just hide like that,' he pointed to their clothes.

The children had a brief look of confusion on their faces. But unsurprisingly, Konohamaru, who had the most pranking-oriented mind immediately piped up, 'Aha! So, we can use henge!'

Moegi's eyes lit up, 'You are so smart, Naruto-niichan', completely forgetting that Konohamaru had done just that not ten minutes ago.

'Yes, but this time, don't be naked', Naruto reminded the three. 'And here', he showed them to his secret stash of items that he had hidden carefully behind a dumpster, for a rainy day when the mood struck him.

'What do we do this, boss?' Konohamaru asked, holding up a little paper seal which was not unlike an explosive seal but the kid didn't have to know that.

Naruto grinned and let them in on his plan, causing them to snicker at the deviousness of it.

'Good. Now you have two hours and I'll be constantly trying to find you', Naruto said and instantly, the three kids had grabbed a handful of the paper slips and bolted, stuffing them into their pockets.

It wasn't until ten minutes later that Naruto even realised, he had never taught the sexy jutsu to either Udon or Moegi. Ah well, they would just have to make due. He seriously doubted the closet pervert was teaching them anything useful. After all, the perverted jonin didn't even know that they weren't in school.

'Okay, time to begin', Naruto made the most familiar hand-seal and a couple of dozen shadow clones popped out. As usual, he sent a few into the library to continue their research. By now the chunin's who had guard duty their had gotten used to multiple Naruto's browsing the genin and theories sections.

Much as they disliked the idea, they couldn't do anything to stop him. The rest were however doing much the same as the three kids earlier: stuffing their pockets with seals.

As one, they all put their hands in the ram seal and called out, 'Sexy Jutsu' and in front of him stood at least thirty-six different looking women, all quite beautiful in their own regard.

With a feral smirk, they dispersed into the market from different angles and Naruto himself snuck out, intent on finding the three children.

It was ten minutes later that he found the first one. At first glance it looked to be one of his clones who was looking at women's clothes in a shop. However, a closer inspection told him the girl was showing more skin than any of his clones did.

Hiding himself as he was in the guise of old man, he couldn't just walk up to woman's shop and not expect to get beaten up. Closing his eyes, and concentrating on the sensing chakras, it took a couple of minutes to focus because of the multitude of signatures present.

Getting rid of that headache would be a pain. But eventually, he could focus his 'mind's eye'. Ah, so it was Konohamaru, the Ero-gaki. Well, a little might be Naruto's fault since he did try to sneak him into the women's baths last time.

Two shops down, it was Udon in the guise of a brown-haired woman, with a decidedly manly face. Hmm. His sexy jutsu needed work. But Moegi's, who was looking at some fruit at a stall, was nearly perfect. Though the hair was still the same colour and shape.

Still, he needed a way to tell them they'd been caught and try again. But he couldn't just do the shadow clone jutsu here in the middle of the street. Hmmm…. This was trouble. If he gave it away here, there's no telling what the damn villagers would do.

And he was liable to give away the rest of his clones who were wandering the town square anyway. He mentally groaned looking at the number of men ogling his clones. Why the fuck is Konoha full of such perverts.

He quickly ducked into a bookshop, keeping an eye on the kid's chakra signatures albeit it was hard to focus on two things at once.

Distracted as he was, he didn't see where he had decided to hide. 'Adult section, hmmm… Interesting. Very interesting.'

Well, might as well make use of this opportunity and browse. Naruto's old man eyes nearly bulged out of his head when he saw the third shelf.

There, shining like a gold trophy in the middle of all the other trash, the book was calling to him. The little orange titled book nestled in between other romance novels might as well be the forbidden scroll of seals.

'Hehehe. Maybe I can teach Konohamaru a thing or two to take out Jiji', Naruto let out a perverted giggled as his hand reached towards the book. Finally, he would get to see what his sensei was reading in this book all the time. Just when he was to grab it, Naruto's hand halted.

'_Uh oh', _he mentally winced. He could recognise this feeling anywhere. The dangerous, lingering threat of female retribution. He didn't need to turn to see a few civilian women glaring at him from behind him. _'Shit!'_

How the fuck was he going to get out of his one without being pummelled yet again. As subtly as he could, and without making it look he had noticed them at all, he shifted his hand slightly towards the title immediately on the orange book's right.

Holding the hideous bright blue cover, he said, 'Ohh! Pardon me young ladies. Let me get out of your way.' Naruto inched sideways and turned around, thinking he had actually gotten away with it when a resounding punch was delivered to the back of his head.

'Oh no you don't you perverted old man!' came the shrill yell of a very familiar looking pink haired woman.

However, what he failed to notice was the mirror right in front of him where they saw what he was doing. Including his perverted giggle.

'Wait wait… hold on a second', Naruto put his hands up in submission. 'Surely we can talk this….'

But it was no use talking to this rabid flood of oestrogen and throwing his book sideways, he quickly ran out of the shop, the women right on his tail. Swerving through the crowd, he subconsciously pushed chakra all around his body, willing the change and picturing the woman in his mind, moulding it so he can get his hands in the ram seal when he found the opportunity.

The women within a few more seconds ran up to him and he made every possible attempt not to look stressed.

The pink haired leader urged forward, 'Excuse me miss. But did you see a perverted old man with a bleeding nose running this way?'

Naruto was stunned for a second. What in the hell was going on? Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the reason for their apparent mistake.

Nodding his head fervently, he replied, 'Ahun! That man groped my ass and ran that way!' he pointed towards the opposite direction.

'HE WILL PAY!' the woman yelled, in a voice disturbingly similar manner to Sakura when she yelled at him for doing his sexy jutsu.

The rabid group of women took off, intent on teaching the pervert a lesson to the old man who dared think he can corrupt the honourable grandson.

Naruto let out a sigh of relief as he took in his reflection in the glass of a nearby shop. He was about five feet tall, with long blonde hair and big green eyes, with a sizeable chest. He had made no hand-sign at all, when then did he look different?

Why then had he executed a sexy jutsu? Closing his eyes, and focusing inward, Naruto was instantly able to tell this wasn't the sexy jutsu. The chakra output was different than the sexy jutsu, and he had a layer of chakra covering his body, distorting the image.

So… this was the henge! Naruto was stunned and speechless. For the first time ever, he executed it perfectly. Although there was no smoke when he had done. Deciding to see if it was a fluke, he let go of the chakra he had been maintaining, and the woman's features slowly reverted to the twelve-year -old boy he was, as if melting into the boy he was.

Grinning at the progress he had made albeit unknowingly, Naruto set out to get the three children and decided to see their progress. In the two hours they played the game, Naruto had found them six times all in a different location, all as different sexy jutsu girls.

Moegi had even gone further and changed more clothes on top of what she transformed, and a headscarf to cover her hair. That is why he was able to find her the last time otherwise he would have passed her by if he was being honest.

Unlike what he had thought before, it didn't end up being a waste of time. He was able to use this 'game' to sharpen his observation and stealth skills for he only resorted to chakra sensing when he needed to confirm his suspicion. Otherwise it became too easy and rather pointless for him.

In the end though, Naruto parted from the three children but not before the three had haggled another promise out of him for playing with them again.

Just as he left the streets, multiple explosions of smoke occurred in the village proper, eliciting loud shouts and cursing from merchants to vendors to even shinobi. When the smoke cleared however was when the real commotion and hysteria began.

Yells of 'demon brat', 'monster', 'damn menace', and 'hellion' could be heard from various corners and shops.

'Oops', Naruto said as he got the recent memories of a shadow clone having dispersed in the crowd. It seems he had forgotten to tell the three kids which tags to put where.

The insides of various shops, and the streets were covered in an explosion of dispersing pink smoke, revealing everything in sight dripping with thick multicoloured paint.

'MY CABBAGES!' one street vendor screamed in panic, looking horrified at his collection of now pink vegetables.

'NARRUTOOOO!' came the instinctual shout of a Chunin teacher.

An enraged scream sent him scrambling as far away from the village proper as he could get, as fast as his subconsciously chakra laden feet could take him. He could recognise Iruka's yell anywhere, anytime and it usually spelled a terrible consequence for him.

Naruto let out a loud, belly laugh as he ran towards his isolated training ground towards the edge of the village. Too bad they couldn't prove anything. They hadn't even seen him anywhere in the village today and there were no eye witnesses unlike every other time he had successfully pranked the idiots.

Well, it's not like he did it himself. Naruto's mischievous chuckling died down as he sorted out all the memories of his clones. The ones in the library had gathered enough material to study and research for weeks.

What he neither saw or nor sensed was the auburn haired ANBU vanishing in a Shunshin from on top of a roof, having a report to deliver to his master. Danzo-sama would be pleased, given what he had just witnessed.


	20. Chapter 20

Hinata and every other genin had heard how hardcore the ANBU were and what Jonin did to their genin when testing them. But there were no traps, no clones and no genjutsu waiting for her when she had arrived on training ground seven.

The only thing waiting for her was one tall, beautiful, purple-haired, kunoichi standing patiently and calmly. There was no black cloak that ANBU wear fluttering in the wind. There was no battered flak jacket that spoke of her past battles. Her clothing was utterly casual, including black trousers and a crop-top. She didn't even wear a headband.

Frankly, the only thing that even hinted she was a kunoichi was the simple katana strapped to her back. Her long purple hair fluttered in the chilly wind, as she stood ramrod straight. Even without her Byakugan, Hinata could see that her muscles were taut, ready to spring into action at any moment.

It was oddly…. very normal. If she was a civilian, that is. A failure trying to better herself as she might be, she was a Hyuga. It hadn't escaped her notice that she couldn't sense her chakra signature, smell her scent, or even hear the sound of her breath.

All in all, if she wasn't standing right opposite her so obviously in the sunlight, she would have been practically invisible to her. It was an uneasy revelation to the apparent heiress who hailed from the all-seeing clan. She knew, by her own admission, that even Kurenai sensei couldn't manage this.

So, this was the power of an ANBU black ops.

'Good afternoon', said the kunoichi without flare or dramatics.

In short, Hinata was impressed.

'So', the beautiful woman with long purple hair, looked towards the fidgeting genin standing a few feet away from her. 'You're Hiashi-sama's older daughter.'

Of course, she already knew who the girl was. After Kurenai had roped her in to tutor her genin, Yugao had done what any ANBU does when he or she is given a new case or mission.

She studied her apparent student in detail. Everything from personality, to academy reports, to what Kurenai thought about the girl. Not only that, but the preliminary talk she had witnessed with Kurenai in the tea shop, told her everything she needed to know. And she was not impressed.

Of course, she wasn't meant to be impressed. That was the whole point of tutoring a seemingly useless genin.

The girl nodded nervously, although Yugao could see that she was trying not to push her fingers together. Instead, she the girl fisted her overly large and bulky jacket from inside her pocket.

Before they could start, Yugao needed to know what this girl wanted. From herself, from her, and from life. That, and she needed to get any silly notions about the results of their training out of this girl's head as soon as possible.

They hadn't really talked the day before, Kurenai having dismissed her as soon as Yugao had been introduced and after a time for the meeting was set.

Kurenai, even though her friend was a Jonin, had slight ostrich-like habits. And it was clear to Yugao that her friend had only enabled this child's similar traits, perhaps subconsciously. She wasn't nearly as naïve as her friend, maybe because she had never served in the regular corps and had seen the dark side of their career much more than her raven friend.

That and she knew it would get back to Hiashi about the tutoring. They needed to pre-emptively deal with that situation before it could blow up in Hinata's face and ruin her further.

'Now, we'll start with a simple introduction', she said softly, hoping to put the girl at ease.

'L…like with Kurenai-S…sensei?' Hinata stammered, prompting Yugao to nod as she resisted from sighing. It was clear that the apparent initiative this girl took in requesting a tutor was once in a blue moon type of things.

'Yes. I will begin. My name is Yugao Uzuki. I am twenty-two years old. I became a Genin at nine, Chunin at twelve, Jonin at fourteen and I've been serving in the ANBU ever since. My speciality is kenjutsu, and chakra sensing. I am also proficient in taijutsu. I like training, hanging out with my friends and boyfriend. I dislike traitors. My dream is to become the premiere kenjutsu master in Konoha and Fire Country.'

Yugao finished her longer than normal introduction. Usually, there was no way she would disclose this much information to anyone but it was nothing that can't be found in unclassified records. She needed to get the girl to be comfortable at sharing with her team. Especially since there was no way this habit would be contradicted in her future ranks.

But while most genin would be intimidated when – if they even did – realise that they couldn't sense her chakra, or smell her, Hinata only looked at her with curiosity in her eyes. Interesting.

But would she prove the rumours she had heard about the timid heiress from the other ANBU Hyuga?

'Now please. Introduce yourself, your strengths and weaknesses.'

Hinata nodded, and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. It was hard when she sat opposite an ANBU who had become a Jonin when she was only a year older than Hinata was now. Compared to her, Hinata was pretty much useless. What could she say that could even come close or impress her tutor?

'I…I'm Hinata Hyuga….'

Yugao's eyes narrowed very slightly. Why would the girl repeat herself when she already knew her name? The question was standard procedure amongst the ANBU ranks and although Yugao was beginning to realise how out of touch she was when dealing with normal shinobi, she was determined to follow what she best.

The girl pushed her fingers together before she caught herself and dropped her hands, 'I'm t-thirteen years old. I became a G-genin t-two months ago. My strengths lie in Jyuken and T-taijutsu. My weaknesses are… ninjutsu and genjutsu. I like g-gardening. I dislike a-arrogant people. My dream is to m-make my father and c-clan proud of me', here she stared at the ground, if trying to hide something with her eyes.

She had been an ANBU for so long that she has apparently forgotten how to interact with genin who are not groomed to function in a deadly, fighting unit. So, when the girl came into the clearing with sounds, chakra and smell spewing everywhere, she realised how raw and untrained this girl was.

It was disconcerting to realise how fragile and vulnerable this girl really was. Were the other members of team like this too? Honestly, she was a little disappointed in her friend. From what she knew, Hinata's team was meant to be a tracking and reconnaissance unit. They needed to be stealthy and yet this girl had no idea about it.

Didn't Kurenai realise how breakable Hinata was? How easily she could be killed. A senbon at just the right pressure point, a stray shuriken at the right artery, a kunai to the jugular vein and this girl's death would be on Kurenai. Or maybe her friend had realised this and it was why she had contracted her.

'I… I also need help with t-taijutsu', Hinata whisper-added, dreading the fact that her tutor will find out she was actually bad at taijutsu when she had called it one of her strengths and then refuse to teach her for lying.

But she wasn't lying! Not really. Among what little she knew, her taijutsu was by her strength. The fact it itself was horrible was another matter entirely. Other than that, she only knew what they were taught in the academy.

Hinata almost dropped to the ground in shock when she heard the woman's reply, 'Good.'

'S-sensei?', Hinata asked, trying to get her head around the apparent compliment.

Yugao sighed, 'It's good that you know what you need help with. Even if it is one of your strengths. Too many genin get overconfident and then suffer for it', she stated, noting how the girl's spirits rose slightly. Kurenai was right; she had a lot of work to do with this one. Which makes her wonder, what has her friend been doing with this girl for the last two months.

'Now we will spar and see where you're at. And then decide on a training programme. Is that okay?' Yugao asked, merely for formality. In truth, the girl had no choice but to agree. If she was going to do this, she wasn't going to go by the whims on a genin.

But she enough of psychology to know that if she started this from outright giving orders, Hinata will subconsciously liken this tutoring to her experience at home and her father, no matter how different Yugao may be to the Hyuga head.

That was the exact opposite of what they were trying to accomplish. So, if asking her what she wanted was going to slowly bring Hinata out of her shell, then Yugao will do it.

Hinata nodded nervously and walked forward slightly, but Yugao could almost sense the fear that the girl was spewing all over the place. It was in the way she walked, in the way her eyes darted from her to the sword on her back.

Finally, Hinata settled into her basic defensive Jyuken stance and waited for her tutor to commence the fight. It was well known in the academy that Hinata Hyuga never initiated the fight. She always waited for her opponent to make their way and then respond with an appropriate counter. Even in the academy when the instructors tried to break this habit out of her, she stubbornly refused.

And so, she was getting increasingly more panicked as the seconds ticked by. And then minutes. Had she missed the go-signal? Why wasn't her sensei moving? Or was she in a genjutsu. Her heart rate quickened at thought of already failing the test before she had even done anything. Hinata activated her Byakugan with the Ram seal as soon as that uncomfortable thought made its way into her mind.

As soon as she had activated it, and the familiar Byakugan black and white vision came into frame, her sensei disappeared in a burst of speed before she could even think. She had no time to react from she appeared behind Hinata, a kunai held to the back of her neck.

Hinata's eyes widened as she felt the cold steel on her neck, and saw the chakra network of her sensei behind her. She hadn't even sensed or seen her move. But more than the panic, what she felt was frustration. How was supposed to learn when the woman wasn't going to tone down her skills for her.

Yugao knew what her charge was thinking and quickly disabused her of that notion, 'Whenever in doubt, always take the initiative, Hinata. Unless you have the advantage.'

The ANBU however was surprised to see the young girl shake her head. 'N-no… Outo-sama always says… A Hyuga is as unmoveable as a mountain, t-tall and p…proud-'

But that was as far as Hinata got in parroting the philosophy of her father before her sensei interrupted her by lightly pressing the kunai more.

'I am not here to train you like a Hyuga or reinforce those silly notions. If you want that, go find a Hyuga. I'm here to help you survive and learn to fight', Yugao said sternly. She had heard this spiel before by other members of the girl's clan and it never ceased to amuse her. They were ninja, not samurai!

Hinata however, didn't find anything amusing. What she heard was this ANBU insulting her father. She maybe the worst Hyuga of all, but she was a proud Hyuga, dammit! No one makes fun of her father; her clan, in such a demeaning manner.

Yugao, who had returned to her original position saw the momentary haunted and dazed look on Hinata's face. The girl seemed utterly oblivious of her presence as Hinata looked past her to a point far beyond. She was seemingly struggling with a sudden realisation.

'How dare you!', she spat.

Yugao's eyebrow rose at the highly unexpected voice being raised. Kurenai had told her she always spoke meekly. She was beginning to tremble, but this time it wasn't out of anxiety.

No, it was anger pure and simple. Her fists clenched and the veins around her eyes bulged, without even needing a hand sign.

Yugao sensed the pressure building up on her, like a hunter's desire to kill its prey; a thick, crooning, killing intent began to fill the training ground, centred on the purple haired woman standing ramrod straight. Thick, warm and viscous. It wasn't the killing intent of a mere genin. It belonged to a shinobi who wanted vengeance before anything else.

At that moment, Hinata didn't care that this woman was one of the most dangerous kunoichi in the Leaf. That standing before her was an ANBU Captain. That the woman had become a Jonin when she was barely a year older than Hinata was now.

She didn't care that this was her would-be tutor. She didn't care that she was Kurenai-sensei's friend. All she cared about at the moment was to make her pay for her words. She had insulted her family in a demeaning, lowly manner that was utterly unforgiveable.

'No one insults my father!', Hinata hissed venomously.

Somehow, Yugao didn't think that the Hyuga taught their children this, as she took note of the killing intent slowly, but gradually filling the training ground.

How interesting!

That was Yugao's last thought before Hinata struck.

'_Well, well. What do we have here?' _

Yugao was mildly surprised at seeing the usually timid girl lunge at her, like a hunter going for its prey's neck. She didn't run away, or even back off in response to Hinata's attack, instead letting her get close.

Her senses on full alert, she focused on the chakra concentrated on the girl's fingertips as they tried to strike her again and again.

Yugao gracefully sidestepped Hinata's thrust attack, she couldn't help but be surprised at the force behind her thrust. She batted away yet another chakra filled palm, she sidestepped Hinata again, prompting the girl to stumble almost instantly.

Granted, Yugao wasn't moving at more than Chunin speeds, but it shouldn't make a Hyuga stumble. Something was off here. But quicker than she expected, Hinata stopped her stumble midway and lunged at her again, this time attacking with her left palm, keeping her right guarded.

Smart move. But not smart enough. Yugao quickly stopped that attack by quick downward chop with her wrist at the girl's forearm. Hinata hissed in pain but didn't cry out. Instead, she tried to hit the tenketsu on Yugao's arm, prompting the older woman to jerk it away just as quickly.

Hinata let out a growl of frustration as her attack, yet again, met nothing but air. But she didn't let it get her down. She was on the offensive again. And after the fifth time Yugao dodged her attack, Hinata expected her pivot.

Instead of aiming straight at her, she aimed for the spot she would have been at, striking with her two fingers, chakra coiled to be let out in an instant.

Clever! Very clever!

Yugao barely avoided the blow in time, going at her current speed. Granted, she had been sloppy the entire time she was on defensive, using the same two dodges again and again.

Watching the girl stumble and catch herself yet again, Yugao decided to test her more, by going on the offensive.

Just as Hinata turned, Yugao lashed out with her palm to her girl's forehead, slapping her head away like a nuisance. Hinata hadn't been expecting such an unorthodox move but ignored the sting on her forehead.

Yugao didn't give her more time and was on her, attacking without giving her an opening. Hinata barely blocked and dodged her hard strikes. The woman wasn't going easy on her, in Hinata's opinion.

Hinata pivoted, much like Yugao did earlier, and lashed out with a round kick, which was blocked very easily by the older woman, who threw a straight punch at the girl. Hinata barely blocked it with her forearms, her bones aching in pain from the force of the blow.

Yugao's attacks were relentless however, and Hinata was forced backwards with a frustrated cry. Yugao forced her to retreat, following her attacks with increasing intensity.

Even though Hinata was fighting like a wild cat cornered, unlike the sophisticated Hyuga she was, she was tiring quickly. Yugao saw the trembling in her arms, which were no doubt aching because of her academy styled blocks, and the slight slump in her shoulders.

'You can do better than this', Yugao intoned, kicking Hinata into a tree, who barely blocked it in time, protecting her ribcage.

Hinata's back was against the tree, a renewed hopeless began to settle in her eyes, her shoulder began to slump even more.

'You can do better', Yugao said again. She spoke softly, not scornfully or critically. She spoke patiently, all the while kicking the girl's shin.

'He'd be disappointed in you', her tutor whispered but Hinata's ears caught in clearly. Her eyes read Yugao's lips and Hinata growled. It was true. Naruto would be disappointed. There was a fire of renewed vigour in the genin's eyes as the girl pushed off against the tree.

Hinata whirled around, both her palms closing with only two fingers extended. She attempted what she had never done in her entire life.

Yugao quickly dodged the straight palm and backed away, her eyes narrowing at the stance the girl had taken just before she had lunged. Chakra was concentrated in the two fingers of each hand. Her right hand lashed forward; Yugao batted away but instantly the left did the same, aiming for her abdomen.

Left, right, left, right and Yugao kept batting it away until it looked like the girl would collapse from the strain. She had only ever seen this technique once and that was when Hizashi Hyuga had served in the ANBU briefly.

Yugao had seen enough. 'Enough', she intoned but the girl didn't stop. Instead, she launched herself forward again, intent on hitting Yugao at least once.

'En –' but it seemed that the girl wasn't listening.

In a burst of Jonin level speed, Yugao appeared behind the girl, holding the back of her neck and pushing it just slightly forwards to emphasise her point. Yugao sensed the chakra vanish from Hinata's fingertips and took it as a sign of surrender.

But then, suddenly the girl forcefully turned her head and attempted to bite her hand, only for Yugao to pull it away. She growled as her teeth clashed together around air, her eyes filled with nothing but the desire to hurt.

Interesting.

Yugao's practised hand's flashed down to her pouch, and instantly a kunai was pressed against Hinata's cream coloured neck, its cold steel biting against the warm, sweaty skin.

Hinata instantly froze as she felt the bite of the kunai, not enough to draw blood but enough to make the tutor's point clear. Moreover, she froze when she felt the sharp killing intent flooding her being. Hinata shut her eyes in dread.

Yugao saw all the fight leave the girl at her killing intent.

Hm… Curious.

'Very good', Yugao said, the kunai vanishing back into her pouch.

Hinata's eyes flew open and gazed into her own, wide and confused with fear, 'S-sensei?'

Yugao could barely contain her shock at the sudden turn in the girl. It was almost as if she had two different personalities. Her confused eyes were so wide, she was so vulnerable. But still, there was a hopeful glint in them that made Yugao even more apprehensive to taking the girl under her wing.

'Very good', she said firmly, but not sternly. 'That was a very good performance, Hinata.'

She didn't give praise lightly, but this time she meant it. She felt slightly guilty about manipulating the girl into showing her true potential. But she had known that like all Hyuga, she would not go all out and only do what was necessary.

It was a mindset that they grew up with in that stifling compound of theirs. But Yugao had needed Hinata to go all out so she deliberately insulted her clan, knowing that like all Hyuga, Hinata would take it quite personally. And take it personally she did, if that killing intent and what followed was any indication.

But the girl hadn't shown her true potential until Yugao had taunted her; how her performance would disappoint Hiashi. That was when Hinata had well and truly attacked her with all her vigour.

Once again, looking at the wide smile on the girl's face she was reminded how innocent she was.

That, and what she had learned about her little student over the course of the fight, left only one thought in the ANBU's mind.

'_This is going to be troublesome.'_

'Sit', Yugao motioned towards the nearby bench, as she contemplated how to break it to the girl. Likely, the Hyuga already knew but still, hearing it would be difficult for her. But she wasn't going to progress until she accepted that fact.

Hinata's heart was still pumping fiercely, eyes still wide with adrenaline still coursing through her veins, though her Byakugan had now turned off. She could barely believe what she had done. She had actually attempted not to disarm her tutor, but to actually kill her.

And for a second, when she felt the killing intent rippling across her skin and the cold kunai, she had thought she was going to pay the price. But more that that fear, was the happiness she felt. The giddiness at finally having done something worthy of a compliment.

Yes Kurenai-sensei had complimented her before, but that was only to save her from being disappointed, and keeping her status in the village in mind. This one, this ANBU who didn't care if she was a Hyuga, if she was an heiress to a noble clan, who had attacked her relentlessly, actually meant her compliment.

And that elated her. She knew she had passed the test. Gone was the insecurity that she would fail it. But now the question was, what now?

And as she sat on the bench, allowing the cool wind to calm her hot skin, she kept her eyes on the woman who seemed to be deciding how to word her verdict. She would be lying if she said she wasn't a little apprehensive.

Yugao watched the hopeful eyes of the little genin and internally winced at what she was about to do. She decided to begin with the good news first, 'First of all. That was a good performance as I have just said. Your strengths as I saw are your impeccable chakra control, your flexibility and agility, and some of your Jyuken strikes. Now, the good news is that even with your chakra control, you are not suited towards genjutsu and long-range fighting, which makes it easier for me to train you.'

Hinata nodded in agreement. Truth be told, she wasn't really that interested in learning genjutsu either. That was seen as a very weak speciality within her clan and practising it wouldn't gain her any favour. She waited with bated breath to hear what Yugao thought her weaknesses were.

'But you were right. You do need help with taijutsu', Yugao began, seeing the girl's slightly dejected sigh and the slump in her shoulders. 'But the fact that you know this, is a good thing. The first step in solving a problem is recognising there is one.'

Hinata lit up slightly, hearing this. She wasn't completely writing her off.

'But I would be lying if I said that was the only problem', Hinata was slightly confused. What did Yugao mean? Were there more problems other than the fact that she sucked at taijutsu; the branch of ninja arts that her clan excelled at?

'W-what do you mean, s-sensei?' she asked, somewhat hesitant to hear the answer.

Yugao decided to be blunt with the girl, 'The fact of the matter is that you are not well suited to Jyuken. Like I said, you are flexible and agile. Which also means, and it shows in your fighting, that you struggle to maintain your momentum at the same time as retracting your force. Which is essential in the Gentle Fist style.'

Hinata's eyes widened at hearing the tutor's claims. Yes! That was true! Her father had berated her quite a lot on her failure to stop her momentum in time. But the fact that this woman, this outsider was able to analyse their style the first time Hinata used it, and able to decipher its key component was too close for comfort.

That, however didn't change the fact that Yugao was very correct in her assessment. But it seemed like she wasn't done.

'You also struggle to shift your centre of gravity fast enough and it costs you precious seconds', Yugao added, noting the slightly confused look on Hinata's face, unlike the one she had on before. So, she hadn't known this about herself.

'The Gentle Fist is an old, traditional style, Hinata. It has a set of complete, defined attacks and moves. It is a rigid style, akin to an avalanche of rocks sliding down a mountain, pounding down on their opponent.'

Hinata had never heard their style explained it that way, but it made sense. It just didn't focus on breaking bones and muscles like others did. It was ironic, in that it was called Gentle Fist but it was quite forceful.

'What you need is a style that is more like water, is fluid in its katas so you can flow from one movement to the next, all the while conserving your force and momentum.'

Hinata's jerked herself awake, disbelief colouring her face when she realised what Yugao meant. 'B-but, Outo-sama will not a-allow me to t-train in a-another style!' She had thought Yugao would help her practise her taijutsu against whatever style she uses, and in turn make her Jyuken better. Like she does with Kurenai-sensei and her team.

Yugao sighed, having already expected this. 'I know. He most certainly will not like it. But the fact is, he gave responsibility of your training to Kurenai, and she gave it to me. That means he cannot object to what I teach you. Is there anyone who can train you in the Jyuken at home?'

Hinata shook her head, 'N-no. No one else is allowed to train me without Outo-sama's permission.'

Yugao nodded, 'I can't teach you to fight like a Hyuga. No one outside of your clan can. But I can teach you how to fight. Your clan might not like it, but they will learn to respect your strength. And if there's one thing that Hyugas respect, it's strength.'

Hinata nodded and pondered the dilemma for a little while, weighing the pros and cons against each other. At this point, she had nothing to lose essentially.

She took a deep breath and bowed, having come to the decision that will change her life, 'Yugao-sensei, I would be honoured to learn whatever you teach me, even if it's not the Jyuken!'


	21. Chapter 21

Naruto stood in the middle of the training ground, opening the storage scroll his clone had just delivered a minute ago, in the guise of an old woman and then dispersed, having run out of chakra.

Naruto sat down on the grass to study the entire compilation of research notes, idly wondering if he should find some way to seal a table and chair in a scroll. It had now been eleven days since the Hokage had given the target of three weeks, and Naruto was happy to say, he could very well finish the project in time.

And as he studied the crudely drawn chakra diagrams, and his conclusions of what he thought seals did, it did look plausible. All Naruto had to do was to design an experiment based on his particular question and work methodically until he reached a conclusion.

And then apply that to his training. Just like he had done to the henge earlier, albeit subconsciously. Now that he was out of the village proper, he could contemplate on the weird result properly. It was unlike any other he had seen; unlike the one they had been taught in the academy.

There a couple of reasons that he could come up with for the success of his jutsu, albeit in a weird way. But then again, he never was one to follow in others' footsteps. Either, his increased chakra control – from the tree walking and water walking with stuck leaves – had enabled him to mould the right amount of chakra necessary.

Or, after having created so many clones and having them perform Sexy Jutsu, his chakra was at a lower level, enabling him to do it.

Either could be tested out easily. And so, he made another thirty shadow clones. 'All right, pair up. In each pair, one will do the henge and the other will scan his chakra.'

All clones saluted their boss – some grumbled about him being too bossy – and got to work. Unlike before when the training ground would be filled with shouts of henge and bursts of chakra, now having more sense and experience, each clone carefully moulded and then manifested its chakra, while the other paid close attention to how the chakra moved.

Naruto himself standing at the head of the group looked on with a keen eye, keeping his mind's eye on the clones' chakras.

'What the fuck!' Naruto exclaimed, disbelief colouring his voice. The moulding had been going perfectly, albeit slowly. But when it came time to execute it using the ram sign, a large amount of clones' chakra swirled at their feet, and around them in a circle, before exploding outwards.

What resulted was a fucked up henge. Each of clones had failed. Again.

That's not possible. He had done it perfectly earlier? Why wasn't it working now. This time, he took part in the experiment himself. The second time was the same but in the third time, it was certain that this henge was different than the sexy jutsu, although they used the same hand sign.

It didn't work the second time or the third time either. Sighing dejectedly, Naruto sat down on the grass, wondering how he was going to fix this. It was a tad hard given that he didn't know what the hell was wrong in the first place.

He turned back to his notes on the Henge. There was a mistake in there somewhere that he had overlooked. But what?

'_Henge was a transformation jutsu, a unique one of its kind which allowed users to take the appearance of whatever they chose. It is most often used to disguise the user as another person, but one can also take the appearance of animals or objects. _

_Successful henge jutsu requires users to give attention to detail, and act as the assumed person.'_

The notes went on for a quite longer, and were coupled wherever possible with chakra diagrams he had drawn, or had attempted to draw as much as could understand them. The truth was, even if he had the ability make solid clones and have them do the studying, only a month of being serious was not enough to make him smarter than his peers.

He knew that when he had started but Naruto didn't let that get him down.

'_Hand signs for Henge: Dog, Boar, Ram.'_

The last part was referenced and listed several resources, including the written scroll of notes Iruka used for his lectures. It had taken several hours of convincing on the blonde's part before Iruka was ready to relinquish his notes.

Honestly, that was only to discover where they were kept. If the Chunin had refused, then Naruto would have had no choice but to steal them. Thankfully, it didn't come to that.

But he was definitely capable of doing the henge, and without hand seals at that. It was just a matter of retracing his steps. The Ram seal was making his chakra expel in large quantities, and not only that but making it swirl for some reason before more or less exploding outwards.

So, he eliminated from his attempts altogether and tried the henge without it.

'Okay, focus Uzumaki. What did you sense?' he asked himself, recalling how he had disguised himself as a woman earlier in the crowd.

Somehow, for some reason, when he does his sexy jutsu, he expels chakra from all over his body, and surrounds himself in it.

Might as well give it a try. All of his clones focused on expelling chakra all around them, little by little, then focusing on changing its look to make him look different.

It took more than a few tries but finally, at the fifth try the group of clones finally got the hang of it.

Naruto watched with wide eyes, as each clone's appearance gradually changed from his whiskered face, to the pale, broody look of the teme, if melting one's face and another appearing from underneath.

Naruto grinned, laughing. Now that he knew what he needed to do it was only a matter of practising with it. In his excitement, he created another thirty clones and had them to do the 'Henge no jutsu' his unique way without hand signs.

In the end, it took him and his clones an hour and many botched attempts because of either lost concentration or control of chakra, but he had managed it. Well, at least that was one academy jutsu of his bucket list. It may have taken a precious hour, but at least this way Naruto discovered another chakra control exercise.

The Henge Jutsu required a ridiculously low amount of chakra to use and so he had to carefully maintain the output at that painfully dismal amount. But it served to give him more training in it, at least.

Next was his dreaded clone jutsu. A fucking useless jutsu if there ever was one. When would he ever use it in a fight? And what kind of moron would be fooled by one. It was full of holes.

For one, it was only an illusion that made a copy of him. And so, it was obvious to see through it in even the slightest bit of light passed through it, or the illusion wavered even for a second.

If the first didn't happen, then Naruto was sure nobody was actually foolish enough to believe that a copy of him would have no shadow on the ground. As a result, it annoyed him to no end.

Moulding his chakra, he created the tiger seal, and his chakra exploded outwards. A burst of smoke, and next to him, quite predictably, expectedly, and unsurprisingly was a lethargic and dehydrated looking, fucked up clone lying on the ground.

'I hate this jutsu!' Naruto yelled to no one in particular, feeling the need to do so. This fucking thing had caused him to repeat the bloody year three times in the academy. He hated the favouritism Jonins and even the Hokage showed.

Hell, Lee couldn't even use ninjutsu or genjutsu and had failed his genin exam as well. But he was passed because Guy intercepted on his behalf. Wasn't it obvious to the old man that Naruto had too much chakra and was essentially incapable of doing the simple techniques? Why hadn't he then done the same for him?

'_Ughh. No use thinking about it.' _

To Naruto, it was a great pain in the ass that there was just no way to quantify the amount of chakra used in a jutsu. How were they supposed to realise if they were putting in greater or lesser? But at least, in this particular case, the most probable reason it wasn't working for him was because he was pushing in too much chakra.

He stared at his clones who stared back dumbfoundedly, nobody knowing what to do now. They had run out of options. It was clear that the method shown in the books and taught in the academy will not work.

The problem was though, he had no idea how even to do that. He was not going to learn anything further as long as he was stuck on these pathetic useless jutsus and he couldn't afford to waste any more time on them.

But then, how should he go about to finding a new way of doing it? The only way he could think of, was to combine what he had learned about chakra theory and hand signs with what he wanted the jutsu to do, in an experiment he would have to design himself.

If chakra was energy that sustained life and enabled them to do ninjutsu and genjutsu, then it stood to reason that it could be quantified and measured the same way. He had no idea how to measure energy, but he had learnt in some science books that other energies such as heat or kinetic energy was measured in a unit called Joules or Kilo Joules.

'Why couldn't that be applied here?' he asked himself, completely unaware that he was being watched.

As much as he had gotten a hang of his sensory skills in the couple of weeks, he had realised it, he was still no match for someone who was a trained stealthy assassin, and experienced in keeping their presence hidden.

While Naruto wasn't the sharpest kunai in the pouch, he had read over some of the science experiments which led to developing theories and laws. The observer needed the aspect that was being observed, a dependent variable and another variable that you changed, independent variable.

In this case, that would mean that the result he needed, the variable being measured was the effectiveness of the jutsu. The independent variable was the amount of chakra used to execute the jutsu, whilst he could also change the hand signs he used.

The academy taught them that the clone jutsu used 'Ram, Snake, Tiger' but he remembered that Sakura ended her clones with Dog. So, it wasn't impossible to do it with different signs.

'Okay, dispel in groups of five', Naruto ordered his clones, in order to avoid a splitting headache. He had learnt from his mistake from the last time. Dispelling too many clones at once was too painful.

The experiment would have to be done in stages. Clearly, the hand seals taught to them in the academy weren't working for him, for whatever reason. That means he was going to have to find another set of seals to it.

The first stage he would need to keep the chakra constant. The easiest way for that was obviously Shadow Clones. He had no idea how much chakra he had in total, but the shadow clones jutsu inherently distributes it equally. Which takes care of the first problem.

Again, he created thirty clones, each with an equal amount of chakra distributed from the total, him. He couldn't be sure but it seemed like he had given each clone nearly 5 percent.

The next step would be to determine which seals to use using all of that five percent from each clone. From the previous experiment, it was obvious that Tiger would not work.

Naruto sat down on the ground, and like before in the library, and focused his senses entirely on the group of clones before, 'Okay, start moulding chakra… now.'

He didn't need to tell them the next step, and each clone attempted to execute the Tiger seal, with as much chakra as he uses to tree walk. That didn't work and he made a note of it in his notes.

'Next, dog with 5% more than before.'

That didn't work either. The clones then tried 'Tiger with 5% less than before' and then repeated the process until they each of them run out of chakra completely, which was being dissipated outside without even doing the jutsu. Why that was, he had no idea. But that wasn't the objective of this experiment so he refused to let himself be distracted.

Even if nothing worked, at least now Naruto knew when he made thirty clones, each of them could attempt to mould chakra and dissipate it into the environment a total of six times before they dispelled.

Naruto recreated the clones yet again, but had them repeat them repeat the entire process but this time with the 'Dog' seal. Quite expectedly, that didn't work either.

The entire experiment was repeated with each of the twelve hand signs they had learnt. Each attempt was noted down, including how much chakra he used, his calculations and observations. But the most important was how he sensed the chakra was moving inside the clones' bodies when the executed each seal.

If he didn't have the Sharingan or Byakugan to see the movement of chakra, this was the next best thing. And since each clone did the chakra moulding multiple times, he had plenty of observations to make.

In the third time creating his clones, he had the group redo the entire experiment but using 15% more and less chakra with each of the twelve seals in order.

'AHA!' a clone exclaimed excitedly, eliciting more shouts from other clones and a cacophony of questions.

Naruto's head whipped up to see an exact copy of the clone on the right. He knew he was seeing it with his own eyes, but he could hardly believe it was real.

'No way!' Naruto whispered, shocked, as he hurried beside the clone to inspect.

'No way! It's a clone!' Naruto shouted, seeing that the Bunshin made no impression on the grass and more importantly, his hand passed through it.

'IT WORKED, it worked! I can't believe!' Naruto jumped around, His face full of joy, he laughed like a maniac.

When his excitement died down, Naruto whirled to the Shadow Clone and questioned him thoroughly before dispelling it. Aha!

So, this shadow clone had used 20% less chakra then what he used for tree walking but used the entire seal sequence of 'Ram, Snake and Tiger.'

When that hadn't worked, he eliminated the Ram and repeated it. Eventually, he found that it worked with only the Snake seal, without Ram and Tiger.

Naruto quickly made note of this anomaly in his journal and ordered his clones to try it out.

He smirked, seeing with great satisfaction that each and every shadow clone had created an illusionary bunshin, which they had to maintain using careful control. Granted, he himself couldn't maintain it for long but that was because he had much larger reserves than he had allocated to each shadow clone.

But at least, now he was able to at least create a normal clone, as useless as it would be.

'TAKE THAT MIZUKI BASTARD!' Naruto yelled. 'I did it!'

The rest of the hour allocated to this useless jutsu was used in Naruto and his shadow clones practising and maintaining the careful control needed to execute this jutsu, not allowing himself to get overconfident.

The substitution had been a bane in his life, just after the clone jutsu because Naruto could never successfully replace himself with a log or whatever he was using. Many times, he ended up not in its place, but somewhere in between. But mostly, he just expelled chakra uselessly and nothing happened.

But given his now recent experience in moulding chakra carefully, it shouldn't be out of his reach. He was feeling slightly drowsy, purely because he had been making shadow clones for four hours now without a rest and doing the experiment along with them each time. All of that, he did with no food in his belly.

True, he hadn't had lunch and it was coming onto evening, but he refused to leave until he had successfully substituted himself at least half the times. Naruto didn't allow himself to rest more than half an hour as he designed a very similar experiment for the substitution jutsu.

This time however, he used what he had just learned from the clone jutsu. Not only had the previous two jutsu showed him that he had to mould chakra internally before he made the hand seals, but also during it, and maintain after he had executed the jutsu.

Additionally, he had to design an experiment which took into account the possibly of using the original hand seal sequence 'Tiger, Boar, Ox, Dog, Snake' and then eliminating them one by one, depending on which seal worked and which didn't.

An inherent requirement of the technique was that he needed to prepare the object to substitute with beforehand. Just like Kakashi had prepared the logs in their bell test, and Zabuza used the white rabbit. Not only that, but the object needed to be of a similar weight to him. That however was debatable. There was no way the rabbit couldn't have weighed as much as the Demon of the Mist.

But he didn't have so many logs. His research had also showed him that the objects needed to have some of his chakra attached. Therefore, the gift of Tobirama, Shadow clones should suffice as objects. Since they were created from himself, they should be of a similar weight and already had his chakra within them.

With the methodology somewhat clear, he proceeded to create two groups of sixty shadow clones and separated them in pairs.

'The first group with follow protocol 1', he told them, having no need to explain what it was. They would each vary the amount of chakra they used, using the tree walking as baseline and then also vary the single seals they used.

'The second group will follow protocol two', he explained unnecessarily. This group will keep the amount of chakra they used the same, whilst starting from the original sequence and then eliminating one seal at a time.

Having done that, he created a shadow clone for himself and did followed the first protocol and then the second.

It was an hour later, and recreating both groups once more, that he got the first successful result with as much excitement as the clone jutsu elicited.

Naruto quickly dispelled the clone which had managed it and analysed its experience and had his remaining clones copy what he had just learned.

He quickly noted down the surprisingly similar conclusion. This jutsu required a maintained 5% less chakra than water walking. However, unlike the Clone Jutsu, where he eliminated the first and the last seal, this time the clone only used the first and the last seals, for reasons beyond his understanding right now.

Thus, after six hours of gruelling work and putting his hypothesises, and research into chakra theory, and hand seals into practise, Naruto fell to the ground in exhaustion, not noticing an impressed ANBU leaving to report his findings.

'I passed. I'm a Genin', Naruto whispered, his tired azure eyes shut, and a smile on his exhausted face, as he remembered the vendor with the pink and orange cabbages screaming in horror.

It was a few hours later, that the previously exhausted Naruto woke up to an empty training ground, the shadows of the night increasing and threatening to engulf everything gradually. The only sounds in the eerily silent ground was the chirping of crickets and the growling of his own stomach.

'Ugghhh', Naruto mumbled getting up from his prone position, his strained muscles groaning in protest. Even though he had only trained in the Academy Three, his body felt like he had been training A-rank Jutsus for the past few hours.

Or maybe it was that effects of the mornings' endurance training catching up to him. 'What the…?' Naruto shook his head in confusion, getting rid of the lingering sleep.

As he got up, something fell from his lap. Striking blue eyes widened in recognition, his heart quickened at the sight of the similar seal and the elegant creamed coloured scroll, tied off with the green bow like it was every birthday.

Naruto whipped his head around left and right, in order to see if anyone was there. Who could have dropped it here on his sleeping body?

'Idiot!' he slapped himself on the forehead, for forgetting his most useful ability. Concentrating his senses, he stretched out as far as he could, but there was no one in the training ground except for him.

Hurriedly, he snatched the scroll, but held in gingerly. He was most certainly not going to open it here. Once again checking if the coast was clear, he sealed the scroll within another training scroll which was sealed within another one containing his notes. He could never be too careful; he had learnt over his short life.

Naruto gathered his remaining scrolls, making sure they were all there and accounted for, and headed towards town, towards the Akimichi restaurant. Granted, he wanted ramen and the slurpy, noodly, deliciousness but he now knew more than ever, that his body couldn't grow properly just on ramen alone.

Naruto realised he probably smelled of sweat and grime but at this time, he couldn't care less. He just needed some food. And after ignoring the glares of some of the other customers in the BBQ place, he was guided by a waitress, to an isolated booth towards the back.

If noticed the reaction of some of the other patrons, she never said a word. 'Here's your menu, Naruto-san.'

The blond barely paid any attention to the elaborate four paged, laminated folder he was given as if it was a piece of art. His attention was on the familiar signatures he sensed two booths away. It was surprising he hadn't sensed them earlier when he came in.

And sure enough, sitting close by were the two he usually bunked academy classes with, along with Sakura's rival for Sasuke's number one fangirl, Ino Yamanaka, with their Jonin-sensei, Asuma, the old man's son. The sight elicited in him a pang of jealousy. Why couldn't his team be like theirs?

Every time either of his teammates to have ramen with him, Sasuke outright ignored him and Sakura punched him on the head, illustrating just how to gross eating with him would be for her social life. But he crushed that feeling as soon as it had come.

He was a different person now. He had already decided he was no longer going to pine for his teams' attention outside of missions. But had habits take longer than a month to be rid of.

Naruto wasn't as stupid as other's thought him to be. Well, not nearly as much. He had been present on a few occasions Asuma had come into the Third's office while he was humouring Naruto for something or other. The blonde had missed it at the time, but now it was quite clear to him that there was a lingering tension between father and son.

Perhaps it was just a conflict of opinions. But Naruto thought it was more than that. The Third gets that subtle yet also very clear look of disappointment whenever he is faced with his son. Naruto, as a result of his recent research on the Hokages, found out that Asuma wasn't the only son the Sandaime had. Now that he thought about it, it was fairly obvious. After all, Konohamaru must have been sired by someone.

That someone, Sasuke Sarutobi, had given up being a ninja and left the Hidden Leaf Village years ago. Not that that explained the tension between the Sandaime and his remaining son, however. The only thing that Naruto could come up with, without more information was a difference in philosophy.

The Sandaime, as he knew from various lectures, was an adamant adherent of the Will of Fire philosophy. Perhaps his son, wasn't.

It also seemed that the man had noticed Naruto looking their way and said something to his team. The blonde was saved from their surprised looks when the waitress returned to take his order.

'Umm', Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly. He hadn't actually given it much thought. And it served to annoy the woman quite clearly. 'Just get me three large rib-eye steaks, a plate of vegetables and a plate of potatoes. With sauces.'

'Coming right up', the brunette took the menu back and returned to wherever she had come from. But it seemed that he wasn't to have any peace for his meal, and he was hounded by Team 10's genin almost as soon as the woman had left.

'Ohayo Naruto!' Chouji greeted him enthusiastically, sliding opposite him without even an invitation, his ever-present bag of chips in his hand. He was similarly greeted by Shikamaru and Ino, who had admittedly, not changed at all since he last saw her.

'Long time no see Naruto', Shikamaru added, quite unenthusiastically.

Naruto chuckled, same old Shikamaru, 'Yeh. Been busy with missions and all.'

'How come you're here, Naruto!' Ino had that look on her face, the look on unbridled curiosity at the prospect of learning some new juicy gossip and Naruto immediately. No way in hell was he going to share anything with this girl.

'Umm, I'm here to eat', Naruto misdirected, hoping she would get the hint. But no such luck.

'Duhh! I mean, you always eat ramen, why the change now?' Ino asked, her brows furrowed as she gazed at Naruto like was some particularly complex puzzle.

If Kurenai was the Ice Queen of Konoha, Ino Yamanaka was the Gossip Queen. And if he even said something remotely related nutrition, who knows what the villagers will be talking about tomorrow. Not to mention, it was most certainly bound to get back to Teuchi and Ayame. And it would no doubt hurt them.

Asuma was of yet silent, looking from the boy to his team. Why hadn't Naruto gone with Kakashi? He knew that the cyclops ninja had gone to Wave with his brats. Was this the punishment that he had heard about from his father? If so, it seemed that the boy was making full use of it, instead of sulking, like they had expected.

He saw the tell-tale signs of physical exhaustion in the way the boy had walked into the restaurant. That and the unmistakable bulge of weights under his jacket and trousers. He didn't know Kakashi had started his brats on endurance training already? Which meant that someone else had suggested it to a student that wasn't theirs. And the boy had taken it up without hesitation.

If he was just another ninja, he would have dismissed it as 'reading too much into it.' However, he wasn't just anyone. He was a Jonin. He might not be as exceptional as his father, or even his bastard older brother before he left Konoha, but he was still the heir of the Sarutobi Clan, son of the famed Professor, and a former Guardian Ninja and the only person to be given free choice of re-joining the elite ninjas that guard the Fire Daimyo, whenever he wanted.

As such he was sure, something was going on here. But he was too lazy to think too much into it. It was his friend's problem; he can deal with it himself.

Naruto however, was faced with a much more serious dilemma. Not only was the smartest genin he knew, present and would no doubt dedicate himself to solving Ino's puzzle if he acted the least bit differently, but Asuma would most certainly inform Kakashi, seeing as they were friends.

However much he hated to do it, he had no choice.

'I know what you mean, Ino-chan. Ramen is the food of the gods!' Naruto proclaimed loudly and was internally glad to see them wince at his pitch.

'Don't call me chan, baka-Naruto!' Ino screeched, and quite predictably a punch landed on the top of his head, 'But why are you here then?'

Naruto grumbled, rubbing the top of his head, 'Stupid old man told me to eat healthily at least once a week!'

'Huh? Which old man are you talking about, Naruto?' Ino asked, wondering if he had met some old Akimichi or something.

'Hokage-Jiji of course!' Naruto replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. 'Stupid old man said I need to eat vegetables as well if I'm gonna take his hat soon! Just wait till I prank him with my sexy jutsu next time I see him!'

He wasn't technically lying. The Sandaime had told him this, just not recently.

Ino gasped at his shocking lack of respect towards their leader, 'Show some respect, Naruto!'

Quite expectedly, no one said anything about Naruto's seemingly unreachable claim of becoming Hokage. They had all become used to it, having heard Naruto shout it out from the rooftops, quite literally sometimes, for years.

Asuma chuckled seeing the blonde's antics. So, this was the hyperactive knucklehead he had heard so much about from his nephew, 'You know, you shouldn't talk about him like that. No wonder Konohamaru has gotten much worse.'

Naruto adopted a look of utter confusion, as he narrowed his eyes at Jonin, as if examining him. 'Ehh? Konohamaru? How do you know the brat? Aha! You're his father?'

Asuma got a pained look and a flash of anger on his face before it quickly disappeared. He wasn't a Jonin for nothing, but Naruto had noticed. 'No, Naruto. I'm his uncle. And his pranking has gotten much worse lately.'

'Un hm… He's a good prankster, that's for sure', Naruto nodded vigorously, pulling the steaks towards himself, seeing as Chouji was starting to drool. It was quite disgusting, if was being honest.

'Idiot!' Ino screeched. 'You can't ruin the Hokage's grandson with your foolishness!'

Naruto glared at her, his mouth full of hot beef, knowing just by that statement that Konohamaru didn't like her, 'As if! That imbecile was already like that before he picked me as his rival!'

'Che. Troublesome idiot', muttered Shikamaru, shaking his head in exasperation. This was such a drag for him. Here he had been thinking that Naruto might have changed in the two months since he had last seen him. Seeing that he was Kakashi-no-Sharingan's genin after all.

But it seemed that there were some things that were bound to stay the same. Naruto was still the same unserious orange wearing, loudmouth who devours ramen like there's no tomorrow and yells about becoming Hokage.

It was another hour later than Naruto had exited the BBQ, grumbling to himself and clutching his frog wallet in depression. Never again would he eat anything whenever Chouji was around.

But at least he had saved himself from getting found out, having bickered with Ino all the time. Like Tobirama had said, deception was a shinobi's greatest strength. It didn't have to be in just in combat alone. Even so, he couldn't believe he had managed to fool Shikamaru and even a Jonin.

And that realisation chased away some of the frustration he felt at his mission request not having been answered to in the four, now five days it has been since filed.

Little did he know, he hadn't managed to completely fool Asuma. Nor had he noticed having been followed by a blank, white masked, auburn-haired ANBU from the training ground to restaurant. Not even when he had scanned for chakra signatures.

An ANBU who had seen the one delivering the scroll to his targert.


	22. Chapter 22

Naruto-contested-Uzumaki was happy. He wasn't happy because he had seemingly fooled the smartest genin their age. Not because he thought he had fooled an elite Jonin. He wasn't happy because he had successfully pranked the foolish villagers with the help of his minions, without even lifting a finger himself.

Naruto wasn't happy because he wasn't even summoned by the Hokage, seeing as there were no witnesses who could state that he was there. He wasn't happy because for once he hadn't been chased by enraged Chunins threatening to gut him.

Neither was he happy because he had finally mastered the Academy Three Jutsu and with a week to go in the deadline the Hokage had given him, and with a week till his team returned.

No, he was happy because of the scroll he was holding in his hands. He was too tired the night before to properly pay it the attention it merited and so, he had put it off till he was fresh. Apparently, Guy had left with his team, and so Naruto was left to train alone. But he didn't mind. There was enough for him to do, with the exercises that he had seen Guy and Lee perform.

Granted, some of them were still way out of his ability to perform yet – even if were insane enough to attempt them. Like, running across the village on standing on their hands. Just the thought of doing something that crazy sent shivers down his spine.

But he had trained nonetheless, switching up the order, sets and weights he performed the new exercises at. Like Guy said, he needed to be constantly putting new strain on his body, or it will get used to it and he will plateau. Naruto had taken it to heart, and whenever it seemed like his muscles were maybe getting used to the exercises, he switched them up.

Unlike the single lined notes every year before, this one included a letter along with his gift. Naruto read it for perhaps the fifth time, just to make sure it was real and someone wasn't playing a joke on him. But it was still there! It wasn't a genjutsu. It hadn't vanished when he had tried to dispel it.

'_Dear Naru-chan_

_I don't know how I should even begin writing this to you. First of all, happy thirteenth birthday. It must be a momentous occasion for you. After all, it's not everyday a boy turns into a teenager. You're practically a man now. Soon, you will be keeping away your own share of fan girls with a stick, I have no doubt. _

_I just wish I was there to share it with you, my love. These three years I have been sending you the scrolls is what money I think would have been yours as pocket money. I don't think it'll fit that cute little froggy wallet of yours though. I am excessively sorry for having missed your previous birthdays. And for… _

_Rest assured we will meet soon. If fate wills it to be so, my love. Into this year's scroll, I have sealed exercises that I thought would benefit you. Additionally, as a special gift, for a special birthday, I have also included what once belonged to my beloved uncle. I hope you like it and you will use it well. _

_Even though I wish you had not chosen such a dangerous path, fraught with terrors and loss of life, I know you will be an awesome ninja one day. And it will be my pleasure to aid you in that in any small way, even if the road to self-satisfaction is better with self-learning. _

_But as you grow older, let me depart some words of wisdom. Naruto, be safe. Be strong. But most of all, be kind. Now that you are a proper ninja, know this Naruto: true courage is about knowing not when to take a life, but when to spare one. _

_Now I think that's enough of me giving you a lecture. I am sure you have many things to do that require your attention. _

_So, I'll say goodbye. For now. _

_Happy Birthday Naru-chan' _

Naruto was aware of the hot tears that ran down his face as he took in the letter. There was someone out there who cared. Someone who actually gave him something for his birthday. Maybe… maybe they were even in this village?

But then if they were in Konoha, why wouldn't they give it to him themselves? Were they scared what associating with him would mean for their reputation? That was probably it, Naruto cursed his fate for the millionth time. More than that, he cursed the Yondaime for placing this unfair burden on him.

For the last three years, he had been receiving money in scrolls from this mysterious benefactor, which he had been saving in a very carefully hidden spot in his ceiling, in case his apartment was broken into. It had happened twice or thrice when he had moved into this hovel.

Everybody always looks under the floor but never in the ceiling. Which is why the hiding place was so effective. But why would they call him Naru-chan. The only ones he had heard call their children that were a few mothers.

'_Maybe she's my mother',_ Naruto thought in a moment of utter unrealism but snorted and scoffed at the very next second.

That was a stupider thought than thinking he could be Hokage just as he was now. If his mother was alive, then she wouldn't have allowed that blonde bastard to do this to him.

Moreover, if his mother was alive, she wouldn't have left him, unless of course, she thought of him as the Kyubi reincarnate like the villagers did.

Now that he thought about what the old man answered him every time he had asked about his parents, it was always the same.

But only now could see how contradictory his answers had been. The Sandaime claimed he had no idea who his parents were. But also said that they died heroes of Konoha. There were then two possibilities.

One, that his parents weren't really from Konoha or heroes and he was just some random orphan the bastard had picked up for the sealing.

Two, if the second was true, then that meant that the first was false. The Sandaime must have known his parents, at least by name. Otherwise how could he claim them to be heroes.

No, he was inclined to believe that at least in this, the old man hadn't lied to him, or at least he hoped he hadn't deceived him in this. Otherwise, he didn't know what he would do. He could always leave the village of course.

But he was under no delusion to think they would just let him go without hunting him down. He was the holder of the Kyubi no Yoko. The villagers and the shinobi might hate him but they will not let him go. And as he was now, he had no hope of outlasting the teams of hunters that would surely be sent after him.

Naruto contemplated what it all meant as he sipped a glass of milk. The scrolls, the money, the birthday letter he had gotten today. Not to mention the notes on chakra control he had gotten previously. None of it made sense to him. Who would give him so much money? And why after he had turned nine and not before?

In each of the previous scrolls, he had a total of two hundred thousand ryo. So, in total, now he had eight hundred thousand ryo from his four birthdays, that he didn't know what to do with. Hell, he hadn't even been paid this much for the Wave Mission.

Naruto had never cared much for something as trivial as money. Sure, he wished he had more money to spend on clothes and food, but that was about it. He cared much more for people who were nice to him. So, he had saved it all for a rainy day.

Suddenly there was a loud knock on the door, startling him and causing him to spill milk all over his orange jacket.

'_Shit',_ he cursed mentally, looking around for any place to hide his gift quickly. When he found no other place that could do, in a rare combination of unpredictability and sense, he shoved the scroll in the one place no one had any business looking. His pants.

'Coming!' he called to the door. Maybe it was his team and they had returned earlier than expected. It would make sense. It could only be his luck that was so bad. Truthfully, he didn't think anybody in the elemental nations could have any worse luck than he did. It was like he was cursed from birth or something.

Unbeknownst to him in a gambling house in Tea Country, a blonde woman wearing a green haori, cursed as she lost another bet and consequently another large sum of money.

Naruto straightened out his trousers, making sure nothing was sticking out and walked over the door, trying to look as casual as possible. Opening the door, he saw…. no one.

'Hello?' the whiskered teen stuck his face out and looked left and right for any sign of life. There was none.

Maybe it was a prank.

Only then did he notice a small parcelled box leaning against the outer wall. Naruto's eyes widened as he realised what it was. Of course, he recognised it. When he was younger, he would always wait for this one package on his birthday.

After he had been kicked out of the orphanage, this had been the best part of his year. Ever since then, the day after his birthday, he would find this. Naruto gingerly picked up the little box, tied with a blue ribbon and took it inside.

But the last two years he hadn't gotten one and likely presumed that whoever it was, finally realised how everyone disliked him and decided to do the same. He truly wasn't expecting it this year. The sight of the familiar box brought a sly smile to his face as he shut the door.

Before he had started receiving the mysterious annual scroll on, this mysterious person was the only one to ever give him birthday presents. He neatly untied the bow, and equally carefully unwrapped the gift wrap, being presented with an elegant wooden black box, with a note on top of it.

'_To Naruto-kun_

_Happy Birthday _

_Love….' _

Naruto wasn't surprised by it at all. It was always the same. But he just couldn't understand why they would send one this year and not the previous two years. Naruto gasped as opened the lid, revealing a Konoha head band.

More precisely, it was _his _headband. Naruto could recognise it anywhere, from the barely discernible kanji for his name he had carved into it in the top right. It was the head band which Iruka-sensei had given him when he defeated Mizuki-teme.

The head band was one of his very few precious possessions. As such, he had been crushed when he had lost it in Wave, thinking it had possibly fallen over the bridge into the raging river.

He had gone back to look for it, but was unsuccessful. Now it sat here on a bed of black velvet, all polished and shiny and new again. A lot of the wear and tear had smoothened out, and it looked a lot better than it used to.

The torn blue cloth had been replaced by a felt, dark red, which if he was being honest looked hell of a lot better. As he picked it up, a note fell from behind the metal.

'_10 free bowls of Ramen at Ichiraku's. Valid for one year.'_

Naruto chuckled at the familiar coupon, smiling fondly. Granted, he was trying to cut down on his ramen consumption. But he was still very thankful to whoever this person was. He had had a sneaky suspicion it was Ayame nee-chan. After all, who else would give him ramen coupons. But that was out of the window now.

How could Ayame have his head band. Therefore, it must be someone else. Perhaps Kakashi…. Naah. That's even more impossible.

If ever the shopkeepers tried being more than usual asses and charged him more for groceries etc. It wasn't unusual for them to do so. And so, it was equally usual for Naruto to run out of money for sufficient food before he got his monthly stipend from the Hokage. When Naruto was around five or six, he depended greatly on these coupons for food as a backup.

Smiling, Naruto carefully slipped the coupon into his froggy wallet and tied his headband, thinking what he would do now that it was clear no Jonin would answer his mission request for a tutor. He had three options.

One, go to the old man and complain about it. That likely would do nothing. Next, try and find Danzo. That was even more unlikely seeing as he had seen no hide nor hair of the man in weeks. Third, ask the other Jonin he knew in the village. They might agree if he promises to pay them handsomely.

Naruto pushed away the thoughts of frustration that threatened to ruin his good at the thought of such unfair treatment at the hands of his own sensei, because of whom he was in this position in the first place.

Distracted as he was by his warring emotions, he failed to sense to the figure on the rooftop opposite his apartment, their lavender-whitish eyes being the only feature an onlooker might be able to distinguish.

From a hundred meters away, they watched the hapless teenager opening his present. And while their vision was completely in negative, they had a perfect view of miniscule incline of the corners of his lips, as he looked on to the coupon.

'Happy Birthday, Naruto-kun', with that whisper, the figure disappeared, as if they were just a product of genjutsu.

Naruto meanwhile, channelled chakra into the storage seal onto his birthday scroll, waiting with baited breath for something to emerge. In a puff of smoke that usually accompanied unsealing anything, out popped a long slender black box.

Gingerly, he set the box down and opened the lid and slid it backwards, gasping at the contents.

Inside the box, lay a sword. The saya was plain, unadorned and pitch black, slightly longer than half of Naruto's height. The sword itself was quite heavy, signifying that it was made for a man. Metal singed like a reaper getting ready to end lives, as Naruto pulled out the sword from its scabbard.

Unlike most katanas or wakizashi, the blade wasn't curved. Instead it was a straight blade, doubled edged which ended in a single point. The lack of the blade's curve however, was made up by the most peculiar handle he had ever seen on a katana.

Unlike most handles which were somewhat rectangular, made of wood and only slightly curved, the hilt was metallic, circular in shape, and significantly curved without a tsuba.

He had never thought that he would use a sword or even their smaller versions, but he had seen them in Higurashi's weapon shop where he buys most of his kunai and shuriken. This however, was simultaneously the most peculiar and the most beautiful weapon he had ever seen in his life.

In short, the black hilt curved upwards for a length of maybe half his forearm, then straightened towards the end, and tapered down into the straight, doubled edged, black blade which was as long as half his height and ended in a single point.

He might not know anything about swords, but even as uneducated as he was in the art of kenjutsu, he could tell that this sword was for thrusting more than it was for slashing.

Excitement built up in his chest as he gazed upon his first ever specialised ninja weapon. If he actually learned to fight with this unorthodox sword, he would no longer be a just as average run of the mill shinobi using kunai and shuriken or katanas.

Unbidden, and as if summoned by his excitement, the memory of Zabuza's insanely long and heavy broad sword spinning through the air and embedding into a tree trunk, flashed in his head.

Naruto remembered Zabuza standing before the petrified Team 7, his zanbato on his shoulders like it weighed nothing, as if it was yesterday.

Grinning at the prospect, he recalled the words the shinobi had said, 'When you've hovered between life and death so many times that it doesn't faze you, then you may be called a ninja.'

He might not have a zanbato like the Demon of the Mist, but he could and would forge a path for himself. He was never one to follow in others' footsteps after all. And he wasn't going to start now. Just because he respected the man as a shinobi, didn't mean he had to wield the same sword, and be the same murdering psychopath, just to honour the lessons Zabuza had inadvertently taught him.

'You know what she is after', the cycloptic retired ninja said to his long-time rival who sat smoking his damn pipe behind the Hokage's desk.

'Yes, but we cannot be sure', Hiruzen answered Danzo in the same tone as he always did his interferences.

While outwardly he remained as impassive and emotionless as he always does, inwardly he seethed at the Hokage's naivety. At times, it was harder to see who was more idealistic. Hiruzen or Naruto Uzumaki.

'She wants our jinchurrikki', Danzo stated bluntly, the topic they had been dancing around for more than half an hour.

'Of course, she does', the Professor answered, looking at his rival as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. 'But we aren't going to let her. As you know, the Kiri company is under constant surveillance.'

Indeed, who wouldn't be tempted when faced with a young, naïve Jinchurrikki, and one who housed the greatest of the nine-tailed beasts. Not that Konoha would attempt such a thing, but he was well aware that their village was an oddity among the Great Five.

Well, Konoha under his command wouldn't. Danzo was another matter entirely. But if it was left up to him, the world would surely burn. It seemed that his rival hadn't learned from their sensei's teammate.

'And what's to stop Uzumaki from wanting to go with her?' Danzo asked pointedly, challenging his ex-teammate to deny what was obvious to them all. That Naruto Uzumaki was a flight risk.

However instead of Hiruzen actually recognising that what Danzo was saying actually had merit, he continued with his usual naïve assumptions.

'Nonsense. Naruto may be somewhat disillusioned right now, especially after Kakashi insisting he focus on the basic techniques instead of teaching him ninjutsu, but he is never one to give up. His dream is to become the greatest of the Hokage or have you forgotten it.'

Danzo grit his teeth and felt like knocking some sense into his rival. Old age was clearly affecting him more out of the two. Perhaps he was even going senile. 'The woman clearly capitalising on what any blind person could see. The boy is not being taught properly and wants guidance. She will offer him that guidance and the results could be catastrophic.'

This time however, the Sandaime didn't disagree with his advisor. He knew Danzo was right, at least on some aspects. Which is why he had given Naruto the incentive of teaching him a jutsu. But if the Kiri Jonin offers it to be him, the boy might as well be tempted. Like any thirteen-year-old would.

When he didn't answer for a while, Danzo spoke up again, 'They must not be allowed to interact with the boy.'

Hiruzen however, hadn't guided Konoha through two wars successfully without being at least a little shrewd. Granted, Danzo far outranked him in such a quality, but he was no slouch either. He could see what Danzo was planning.

If he prohibited Mei Terumi and Naruto's interaction, when it was that the woman had helped him, judging by the reports he had received, then Naruto would get even ore frustrated. His rival would then swoop in and offer Naruto training. Of course, he couldn't actually do anything without his permission but given Naruto's already shaky bonds within the village, doing so would at least put pressure on him to give Naruto into his custody.

And that was something was the Hokage was not going to allow. Naruto was still possessed a very impressionable young mind. And even if he had failed the boy in other aspects, he would not allow him to become one of the emotionless tools that Danzo's methods make.

So, he countered with his own idea, 'Or we can use their interaction to gain some much-needed intel.'

Danzo prided himself on thinking five steps ahead of any opponent. Be it an enemy or a political rival such as the one sitting opposite him. As such he wasn't surprised when the man proposed some counterintelligence.

Indeed, it was a viable option. There was no doubt that the Kiri Jonin was trying to undermine Konoha's authority in Uzumaki's eyes and even sway him to their side under the guise of wanting an alliance.

But considering the boy's naïve notion of fairness and honesty, no matter how much he had improved in the time since Wave, Uzumaki would need to be given an incentive.

Hiruzen could almost see the gears turning in Danzo's head and knew they had both come to the same conclusion as he spotted the familiar folder on his desk. That had been a topic of much contention in the council meeting a few days ago.

Indeed, some of the council members thought it was almost an insult that Naruto went as far as asking for a tutor. It was as if he had informed them, he would be taking their kidneys. Even so, it was also obvious to both wizened war veterans that regardless of whether Mei succeeded in undermining Konoha in Naruto's mind, she couldn't be allowed to offer him training.

Such a thing could possibly sow seeds in the young boy's mind and that needed to avoided at all costs.

'Have you decided who to assign that mission?' Danzo asked, pointing to the tutoring mission Uzumaki had filed.

The Sandaime sighed, taking a puff from his beloved pipe, 'Not yet. I'm not convinced its entirely necessary at this point. Kakashi will soon return from Wave in a few days.'

Danzo wasn't convinced that it was a good idea, but this played in his favour. If Hiruzen downplayed the significance of not giving the boy a tutor, then he could put his own plans into actions. The boy's mentality was coming along nicely.

Now, it remained to be seen how he takes being informed of his burden. He had already arranged for it to happen, inconspicuously of course and would be monitoring his reaction. That would greatly influence on how the boy was to be used going forward. Even though it had turned out in Danzo's favour, Hatake has shown himself to be entirely useless.

Hence, the boy will need to be given an incentive. Danzo planned to make sure that he was to be the one to do it.

An hour later, after gorging himself on a large breakfast, Naruto had checked up on the status of his filed mission. Like he suspected, while many people had looked at it, as shown by the logs, none of them however accepted the mission.

While a few weeks ago, he might have been content to let it go and move with life, smiling and grinning as if it didn't faze him, Naruto made his way to the Hokage's office. It was around the time the old man was usually free for a break and reading that smut book so it should be fine.

'Ah, Naruto-kun', the old man greeted him cordially and if he noted that the boy was a little more guarded than usual, he didn't say anything.

Naruto nodded, 'Yo Jiji', waving to the old man behind the desk, who had usual just put the orange book back in his drawer.

'It's good to see you, Naruto…', the Hokage replied but stopped short. He wasn't the only one in the room to notice the obvious difference. Danzo, hidden in the shadows couldn't believe what his lone eye was seeing either.

No there was no way! Had the Kyubi taken over and it was just trying to trick them?

No, that wasn't it. Hiruzen mentally shook off that ridiculous thought. As one of the ones who had fought the demon, he remembered its chakra as clearly as he did his own. There were so signs of the monster having taken over the boy's body, now that he concentrated on the feel of the boy's chakra.

Danzo had reached a similar conclusion. While he hadn't fought the Kyubi himself, no one could forget the absolute rage, hatred and bloodlust. The absolute malice that was its very being. The potency of its killing intent that even the most battle-hardened shinobi couldn't manage. There was none of that present in the boy before them.

Naruto noted the old man's widened eyes, 'What's up, old man. Is something wrong?'

The Sandaime smiled, 'No. No of course not, Naruto.' The Hokage knew that even the boy was still the innocent young boy he was, outright lying to him would do no good. Besides, he still had to figure out what the source of this change in Naruto's appearance was? It could just be Naruto's decision to prank him.

'I was just surprised by the feel of your chakra. It seems much more controlled now', he added, knowing it was the truth, or at least part of the truth. Their sensei had taught them the art of misdirection. That half-truths were always better than outright lies.

'Hehe, well I have been working on my chakra control', Naruto smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head but then he remembered why he came here. 'Anyway Jiji, I have come to talk to you about something important!'

The Hokage raised an eyebrow, 'Oh? And what is this important topic, Naruto-kun?' Perhaps, it was this change?

But there was no reason in shocking Naruto yet. He would just assign someone to watch him. Indeed, with the Kiri Jonin's unusual amount of interest in Naruto, it was looking more and more necessary to keep him under surveillance.

In any case, he probably had an idea what Naruto wanted to talk about.

'It's the mission I filed. No one's responded to it yet and its been five days', Naruto sat down on the chair opposite the old man and crossed his arms, demanding an explanation.

Hiruzen blinked once or twice, before he settled for a business tone, hardly able to picture this somewhat composed Naruto as the boy who used to barge into his office to play. The boy who sometimes had taken to wearing the Hokage hat, even if it was absurdly large on his head.

The boy sitting opposite him, while still had the whining habit of his older self, also seemed much older than he really was. That thought pained him more than he cared to admit.

'Ah yes, yes. The mission', Hiruzen made a show of fishing out Naruto's file from amongst the many he had on the table. He had hidden it as soon as his secretary had announced Naruto was here to see him.

Naruto's eyes narrowed for a second at seeing that file on the old man's desk. What was it doing there? Weren't they picked up at the Mission's Office? Or was he missing something else?

'Let's see here', the Hokage made a show perusing it again, despite knowing every word that was on there. 'Says here, you need a request a tutor for training in taijutsu, ninjutsu and shurikenjutsu?'

Naruto nodded at the summary. That was the gist of it, though now he could think of a couple of more things he wanted to add on there and wondered if he would be allowed to amend it.

Hiruzen sighed, not having known that his problems with Kakashi were this bad. 'Naruto, this isn't a tutor', he pointed to the folder. 'Nobody has answered it because what you are asking for in his mission request is not a tutor but a sensei. That's completely different. And you already have a sensei.'

Naruto pursed his lips. Of course, he knew what he was asking. But he had been hoping it wouldn't be an issue. Now he saw what a childish wish that was. 'Yes, but Kakashi-sensei doesn't teach me anything. I've already told you this, Jiji!'

The Sandaime shook his head, 'Okay… but you're going to have to wait a little while longer. I will talk to Kakashi when he gets back and…', he raised his hand when it looked like Naruto was going to interrupt. 'Besides Naruto-kun. This mission needs to be ranked properly first by a vote of the council and a proper tutor will be assigned.'

Naruto's eyes lit up at his reply. It meant that it wasn't just being overlooked because who he was but they were actually going to be give it some thought. Then what Hinata had told him about mission rankings came back in his head.

If a mission wasn't properly ranked, or the client hasn't specified the rank he need, only then the council decides on it. That means he could hurry up the process by deciding in then and there.

'No need for that old man', Naruto said, noting the slight surprise in the Hokage's face before it vanished. Did he think Naruto did not want a tutor anymore? No! He had to disabuse the senile old man of that notion quickly.

'What I mean is, the council doesn't need to rank it. I'm willing to pay for an A-rank mission for it. Or even two!', Naruto quickly added.

There was a slight shock of surprise and a flare of chakra that Naruto sensed go around in the room upon his proclamation. Maybe it was the ANBU hidden in here. But why would they be surprised. This was his training they were talking about. Surely, he couldn't be stingy.

Hiruzen was mildly surprised that the boy knew how to shorten the procedure. Who had told him this? His first thought naturally went to the rival who was hidden in his office? But when would he have the chance?

Come to think of it, how had Naruto even known that he could hire tutors. It wasn't something that they teach at the academy and for good reason. It seemed that Hiruzen would have to keep a closer eye on his ex-teammate.

But right now, he needed information before he decided something, knowing that Kakashi wouldn't like it when he came back.

'Okay', the Hokage puffed out some smoke from his pipe and picked up a pen, noting the carefully guarded glee in Naruto's eyes. 'How much would you pay for this mission? And for how long?'

Naruto's eyes narrowed for a while as he mentally calculated how much he had saved in total and if he would need to pay for each aspect of ninja arts separately.

'Well, that depends Naruto. Most clients who pay for high ranked missions specify what kind of ninja they want for it.'

Naruto pondered on it and decided that one tutor for all of them would be sufficient for now. As well as cost effective. Even though he had savings, he wasn't swimming in money after all. 'What do you think, Jiji?'

'Hmmm…', the Hokage thought about it a little. There was no harm in humouring the boy until Kakashi returned. Naruto would most probably back out of it when he told him the price of such a mission. 'I suggest a Jonin or Special Jonin. As for the time span, that would have to be agreed between you and the tutor, depending on the training regimen they design for you.'

They spent a few more minutes hashing out the details and refining his mission request until Hiruzen explained what he required of Naruto, knowing that at least in this he wouldn't face opposition from the other elders.

It was another half an hour later that a more subdued and thoughtful Naruto had left the Hokage's office. His first instinct was to go to the library, to search for any clues as to who the sender of his mysterious scroll could be. But his training was more important than a might be-possible-mother who had abandoned him.

And no, he was most certainly not scared to know who she was. Nor was he scared to know that he might actually hate the woman if it turned out to be true.

* * *

** BuNishi-Kun: Mate, it's my fucking story. I'll do whatever the fuck I want with it. If I want to write about one of characters that I've mentioned in the tags, then I'll bloody well do it. If you want to read about a semi god-like Naruto barely three months after his academy graduation, then go read something else. I want to develop my characters in a way other than spamming clones, memorising books and being able to execute elemental jutsus out of his arse. If you can't handle that, then bugger off. **


	23. Chapter 23

Once outside of the building, he walked in the direction of the training grounds, where he had already sensed the large lava-like signature of Mei Terumi. He was curious why she was in training ground three.

'Mei?!' Naruto tried his best to sound surprised when he saw the blue clad Kiri Jonin with her genin. 'What are you doing here?'

She turned, blocking a kick from the blue haired genin with the absurdly long katana at his back, 'Ah. Naruto, fancy seeing you here.'

She smiled at him charmingly and was pleased to see a blush creep up his cheeks. 'My team and I were just getting in some training.'

Naruto had noticed that Harui and Chojuro, as he had learnt he was called, were looking worse for wear and out of breath. 'Oh… right. I'm sorry for interrupting you. Please carry on.'

Mei had already been told by Harui that he was coming, and informed her genin to go along with her. It had been a few days since she had last seen Naruto and it saved her going looking for him. Although, she was curious as to how his chakra control training was going.

'Nonsense. We're guests here, Naruto. And even though we have been granted permission by the Hokage to train, it is still your training ground. I was just preparing my genin for the Chunin exams.' _Hook. _

If Naruto had thought before that she had some ulterior motive, this just sealed it. She was here on purpose, knowing that this was Team 7's training ground. And quite surprisingly, he felt a possessiveness in him growl for them to leave, but he squashed it just as quickly.

'You're welcome to train with us if you want', Mei said, knowing that this would interest Naruto. And indeed, the hopeful glint on the boy's face was just as telling as to the conditions in which he was living here.

_Line. _

A few more subtle pushes in the right direction and he would be willing to do what she asked of him. A part of her rebelled at using such an innocent, naïve boy in such a way, but she ignored it ruthlessly.

This was the shinobi world and there were either ninjas who were used, or those who used others. She mollified that slightly honourable part of hers by saying this was for Kiri. This needed to be done.

'Thanks, Mei. But I don't want to trouble you', he replied. That and he didn't like the death glare the white-haired girl was giving him. He still remembered the thrashing she had given him and if he was being honest, it hurt his pride to train with her.

But there was no denying that she was stronger than him. And as he had come to realise, that resenting someone just because they are stronger than you, makes one petty. And it's a useless emotion.

Strength, when it comes from hard work and guts isn't something to be resented. It's something to be respected. After all, wasn't that what he was trying to do himself?

'Un hn. In fact,', Mei turned to motion towards her two genin, 'We were just done with team training and they have their shift to guard the Princess. So, I can help you with whatever you're having problems with.'

She didn't need to explain it to her genin what she was trying to do. They understood it just be her looks alone and left to carry out their duty, but not before Harui threw Naruto one more dirty look. Judging from the way Naruto seemed to be struggling with the idea, she just needed one more push.

'Well if you would rather learn from your own sensei, the famed Kakashi of the Sharingan, I can understand of course', Mei gave a slight pout that always works on men, just slightly pushing her breasts together by squeezing her chest. And quite expectedly, she saw his resistance vanishing.

_And sinker. _

'No, no', Naruto said quickly, rubbing the back of his head. Even though he had mastered the Academy three, that wasn't enough to make him strong. And who knows. He might even learn something. 'It's just that…. I don't know why you would want to help me.'

Mei's lips pursed together and she resisted the urge to do a repeat of the hot springs and just saddle up to him. They were ANBU watching them after all. Although she sensed that one of them had taken off to tail her genin. Mei weighed her odds here.

She could lie to the boy but there was the chance that he would find out, and she would lose whatever trust she had garnered. Or she could be partially truthful.

'Well, Naruto. I could help you by way of an apology for my genin's behaviour. Or I could say it's because I need something from you', Mei said, knowing she had the boy's full attention now.

Naruto had an idea where this was going and wasn't sure he liked it. But compromises needed to be made in life, didn't they?

'Besides, it's not like tutors are lining up to take your mission request', she added, noting the flash of anger in the boy's eyes before it smothered. Oh yes, he was coming along nicely.

Naruto wasn't that surprised that she knew about it. It wasn't a secret anyway. It's not like he had requested an S-ranked mission. Besides, he had heard quite a few ninja snickering about it as he had left the Hokage's building.

'It…' Naruto hesitated, 'Maybe I made a mistake in writing the request…'

'Hmm… That could be true', Mei narrowed her eyes slightly, wondering where the boy was going with this. 'From what I gather, its been five days since you filed it. If there was a mistake, they would have told you, no?'

Naruto grumbled, 'Then I should have requested a separate tutor for things I need help with. But apparently, it doesn't work that way. It's not like the academy teachers taught me anything useful anyway.'

Mei nodded, 'That's true. You could have. But you're right. It doesn't work that way. That's not how missions are assigned to ninja, especially in villages like Konoha.'

Naruto looked up from the rock he was kicking around, confused, 'What do you mean how they are assigned? Isn't it just whichever team is free to do them they can have it?'

The Kiri Jonin chuckled and shook her head, 'No Naruto. That may work with lowly D-rank and C-rank ones, but not missions of greater importance.' But the boy looked like it was a foreign concept to him. And likely was.

Given how most Jinchurrikki are treated in villages, it wouldn't surprise her if the academy teachers deliberately sabotaged his education.

Still, that didn't absolve him of his ignorance. But in this case, it worked out in her favour so she wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. 'Are you telling me you don't know?'

She already knew the poor boy had no clue whatsoever. Kami bless her luck for making the Konoha ninjas stupid. 'Tell me, Naruto. Do you know what the purpose of the Chunin exams is?'

Naruto knew that to give the obvious answer was going to make him look like he was an idiot. Truthfully, he had no idea what the other purpose was, so he shook his head.

Mei sighed, while inwardly she was actually glad for this turn of events. Even so, she didn't want to give an entire lecture on the logistics of these exams.

'In simplest terms, it's to gather clients by showing off their talented ninja. Each participating village sends its best ninjas who are likely to make the cut, to showcase their abilities and talents and thereby compete with other for missions which are given by feudal lords, merchants, and others of prominence, not only from the village's own country but other countries as well.'

Naruto nodded, remembering how they've done a mission for Wave Country which didn't have its own shinobi.

'Depending on the abilities of said ninjas, the villages who impress the clients the most are inundated with mission requests and those who do not, see their income decline. It's a way to increase one's military strength and undermine the other villages' strength without the need for war.'

He understood that, seeing as he had now begun to study history and how the countries were organised before the hidden village system was established.

'Before there were Hidden Villages, each country was made up of many ninja clans which acted as militia groups, battling for power, prestige and money which came from missions. Now, even though many clans, and clanless shinobi, are organised in villages, the part of clans battling for power hasn't changed essentially.'

Naruto narrowed his eyes in disbelief. That couldn't be right. 'But clans don't fight each other in the village? Surely, it means it has changed and improved from the Era of Warring States.'

Mei however shook her head, 'No. Your Second Hokage tried to make it so, for clans to give up their individual powers but it didn't work out. If it had worked in the Leaf, then perhaps other villages would have followed suit as well. In any case, clans are still vying for power, and there exists a tentative balance of it within the village, which is partially maintained by how many missions each clan gets. Fighting isn't always by combat.'

'But the teams aren't just made of specific clans. Neither me nor Sakura are from a clan', Naruto argued, failing to see how this had anything to do with his problem.

Mei nodded. Either the boy knew what he was doing when he arrived, or he was actually this naïve. She mentally smirked; if the latter, it worked out well for her. If the first, it only makes her job more interesting.

He was from a clan, she thought. But he didn't need to know that… yet. That would come later when she was sure it would have the greatest impact. After all, like in comedy and combat, timing was everything. And this was combat, just not with fists.

'Yes. Teams aren't made up on only specific clans anymore. But clans, especially those with special abilities or hidden jutsu such as Yamanaka, Aburame, or even the Hyuga Clan are also specifically sought out by many clients for jobs, not unlike the Era of Warring States. In short, when a client comes to with a mission, it is their prerogative to give the mission to the village as a whole, or a clan specifically.'

Naruto pondered this revelation and wondered what the implications would be to his own training. Either way, he was thankful to her for explaining it to him regardless of her reasoning. However, it didn't have anything to do with his mission request, for he had requested a tutor and not a job that needed to be done, per se.

She smirked, seemingly having read his mind, 'Yes, none of that is relevant to you except that the tutors you hire can't be from clans with specialised jutsu.'

Naruto narrowed his eyes, 'And why not?'

_Yes, just a little more and he would be ready to accept her guidance. _She could see his walls crumbling, through his eyes. But what was up with this physical change?

'For the simple fact that no one will wish to share their techniques with an outsider. A Hyuga will not teach you taijutsu; a Kurama will not teach you genjutsu; a Sarutobi will not teach you their ash-fire jutsu; and Nara will not teach you Yin release.'

She could have given more examples, but it seemed from his slumped shoulders, he finally understood. The blonde was silent for a while, and she patiently waited for him. After all, Kirigakure wasn't built in a day.

The wind blew by, ruffling his unruly hair, and whistled as if whispering sweet nothings and secrets into his ears. 'You want the sword, right? Zabuza's sword?'

If Mei was surprised that he had reached the conclusion so quickly, she didn't show it. She had already surmised that the boy was a little smarter than what people gave him credit for. That wasn't all she wanted, but she will let him think that… for now. The timing wasn't right for him to know after all.

'Yes, I need the Kubikiribocho. You did win it when you killed Zabuza, regardless of the manner. But it belongs to Kiri.'

Naruto wasn't surprised she had asked for it. After all, Harui had accused him of being a thief. The only problem was, neither the Hokage nor Kakashi new he had taken the sword from Zabuza's grave.

'So, I propose an exchange', Naruto looked up to the see the serious face of the Kiri Jonin, her beautiful green eyes betraying nothing. It still amazed him how Jonin could go from smiling and smirking to business like in the span of a second. 'What is that you want from me, Naruto?'

The blonde in question scrunched up his face in thought, for a few seconds. There were quite a few things he could ask for, if he was being honest.

'Money, wine?' She seemed inclined to give him suggestions of payment. 'Women?'

Naruto scoffed at the preposterous suggestion, 'What am I supposed to do with women. Not like I can use them.'

'Then?' Mei chuckled, shaking her head. He really was an innocent boy if he didn't know what to do with women. Not completely though, she did notice his eyes shifting to her bust every couple of minutes, until he would make another conscious decision to look away.

'Training. I want you to train me while you are in Konoha', Naruto exclaimed decisively, looking quite serious.

Again, the boy surprised her, though she sure as hell didn't show it. One cannot afford to look taken off guard during a negotiation.

She was quite surprised that he wouldn't just ask her for help as she had offered, but outright training when he had access to a library full of techniques belonging to Konoha. From the determined look on his face, those whisker marks somehow more prominent, she gathered that he had already learnt from took other ninja years to learn. That books and scrolls could only take him so far.

'Train you in what?' she asked, raising one auburn eyebrow and folding her arms across her chest.

'Ninjutsu and taijutsu', Naruto replied. Even though he wanted to learn kenjutsu as well, he didn't want to reveal it yet to the ANBU that were watching. Although, the realistic part of him knew that at some point, he was going to have to learn it from one of the same sword-carrying shinobi he was trying to hide it from.

Mei nodded, her tresses falling across her shoulders in a somehow elegant movement. She was sure she could still have the leg up in this negotiation. 'Okay. And how do I know you will keep to your end of the bargain?'

It was Naruto's turn to cross his arms in indignation, 'I never go back on my word! That's my nindo, my ninja way!'

No matter how much he may have learnt since graduating from the academy, but if there was one thing that would not change in him was his hatred of people who did not keep their word.

That was when they sealed the deal, with naught but a handshake, each giving their word. Mei, that she will teach him for the week, and at the end of it, he would return the sword that he took. And Naruto was more than happy to do so.

When he had hauled the sword out of Zabuza's grave, it was purely because he wanted to look badass when wielding it, and make Sasuke-teme look like a chump. But now he realised, there was no possible way he could wield, let alone master such a bulky and heavy blade. It just wasn't his style.

Mei Terumi smiled, finally having made some progress with the boy, 'Okay then, Naruto. Tell me, what do you know of…' she paused for a little dramatic effect, seeing that the boy was almost on the edge of his toes in anticipation… 'Shunshin no Jutsu?'

Naruto's eyes widened at the prospect of learning the teleportation technique and he grinned as he replied, 'It's a technique for high speed movement. It's a teleportation jutsu. There is only one seal, Tiger.'

Mei nodded in agreement; that much was basic knowledge. 'And what is the other requirement?'

Naruto hesitated, and bit back the immediate reply that came to mind – chakra – 'Smoke', he said but then remembered Zabuza's using mist during his fight with Kakashi. 'or Water?'

The Jonin smiled in return, 'Exactly. Most people use smoke as a way to mask their movement. But it's not the only thing that can be used. Each village has their own version of it. Konoha uses leaves; Suna uses sand; Kiri uses water etc. What else?'

Naruto wasn't completely ignorant of the idea behind it, as he had done some initial research on it, 'It is essentially using chakra to vitalise the whole body for a short amount of time. The amount of chakra required depends on the distance one travels, and the elevation.'

Though why did it require the tiger seal and not the ram seal was still up for debate.

'Correct. Now there are some weaknesses that you must be aware of before learning this. It's not to be confused with teleportation. It's only high-speed movement, not a space-time ninjutsu. Secondly, it cannot be used many times consecutively because of the cumulative chakra drain. Thirdly, it gives its greatest weakness comes from the movement itself – tunnel vision.'

Naruto liked this way of learning. It was relatively new to him but ever since he had started his research into the academy jutsus, he found it worked better for him – understanding a jutsu before executing it.

But there was one glaring question he had, 'Is there any way to eliminate the tunnel vision?'

She smiled, knowing that this would get a rise out of the boy, 'The Sharingan.'

Naruto grumbled at the unfairness of having such a handy dojutsu but nothing can be done about that. He would have to work around the limitations, like always. 'Let's do it!'

'Follow my lead', Mei said, as she put her hands in a tiger seal, whilst Naruto concentrated on the feel of her chakra. He had a sneaky suspicion that the woman might know of his sensory ability, as she purposefully moulded chakra as slowly as she could for his benefit.

But unlike what he had expected, Mei's chakra was immediately moulded in the pattern he had already learnt was for the Ram seal, except that she was holding up the tiger seal. What was going on? Naruto concentrated with narrowed eyes, almost as if he focused enough, he would be able to see the chakra.

But that was irrelevant. For he could clearly sense the chakra from the Ram pattern into the muscles of her legs, her abdomen, her arms, and generally every large muscle group. From there, Mei changed her hands into the Snake seal, and then the Tiger seal again.

Naruto had to almost blink, and if he could have shut off his 'mind's eye!' he would have. The explosion of chakra almost blinded his mental eye. He watched in awe, as Mei was surrounded by a swirl of water, and was now standing much further away then she had been, on the water in the gentle stream.

Clearly, he wasn't the only one who could change hand seals for common jutsus to suit him better. As far as he knew, nobody used the Snake seal in the Shunshin Jutsu.

Already this training was looking to be much more interesting than slaving away for useless academy jutsus that served no purpose whatsoever. The blonde's whiskered face twisted into a grin at the thought of finally getting stronger, 'My turn!'

But how she had surrounded herself by water whilst on land, before doing the jutsu? She had clearly used it to mask her movement, for in the water explosion, he couldn't see where she had moved. But it was also clear that she was not going to give him any more pointers, so he did the only thing he could at this point. He stood on the stream to use its water.

Mei smiled at the boy's ingenious improvising. He eliminated the need to make water on his own like she did. But then would he know what to do with the seals she had shown him? Her genin hadn't been able to figure it out on their own? Could he?

That alone would depend on how she would teach him in the one more week they were to stay in Konoha. Not that Naruto was aware of it, but she had no intention of teaching him taijutsu. The genin of villages in peace weren't aware of it, but when it came to battles between armies, taijutsu and weapon skills were much more useful than the ability to through fireballs or put up water walls. Such jutsu also had the risk of friendly fire.

Even if she did require the Executioner's Blade, she was not going to put her village at such a disadvantage by teaching something so valuable to another village's genin.

Naruto however was not aware of Mei's internal thoughts or her decisions. Remembering on how she moulded her chakra using the Tiger seal, then Snake then Tiger again, he repeated it.

Within a span of what seemed like a millisecond, the world passed by in a blur, the contents of his stomach threatening to be released as he was slammed into a nearby tree.

'Shit!' Naruto cursed, holding up his bruised head.

What the fuck had happened? One minute he had finished the Snake seal, and soon as he did the Tiger Seal, he was crashing into the age-old brown bark, quite painfully.

One look back, and he could see her chuckling to herself, holding up a dainty hand to her smooth, thin lips.

Naruto narrowed his eyes. The damn woman was making fun of him. He would show her! He would master this technique.

'What happened?' he asked her, as he walked back on the stream cradling his head.

Unlike what he thought, she didn't stay quiet this time and answered, 'My guess is that you put too much chakra in the technique, and failed to control its explosion outward.'

Naruto nodded, narrowing his eyes, as he concentrated on the technique yet again. The second time was much the same as the first, so was the third and the fourth. By the fifth and sixth time, his head was seriously hurting by crashing into the damn trees again and again.

But at least, he had managed to lessen the distance he travelled. He could tell by the bumps on the barks of the trees. By the ninth time, his stomach could no longer hold onto the breakfast he had had.

'Ughhhh! Ugghh', Naruto was bent over the edge of the woods, retching out his food onto the base of the tree's trunks. 'Disgusting…', he mumbled.

Unlike the basic jutsus, he could clearly feel the expense of his chakra. It wasn't as great as the Shadow Clone but it was still notable.

There was something he was doing wrong other than the amount of chakra he was putting in. He wasn't moulding it right even though he was using the same seals she had used, 'Tiger, Snake, Tiger.'

'Could you show it to me again', Naruto asked, having finished vomiting and walking back to the stream.

Mei redid the jutsu, and like before, streams of water swirled around her, before she vanished momentarily, only to appear right in front of him, holding a kunai in front of his knife.

'Shit!' startled, Naruto jumped back, as soon as he noticed the kunai, his own having somehow come out of his pouch and into his grip. 'That's not funny!' he grumbled, looking at the chuckling Jonin.

'Sorry, Naruto-kun but I had to show the possibilities of this jutsu', Mei trailed a perfectly manicured nail along the length of one of his whiskers, causing a faint blush to rise to his cheeks.

How the hell had she done that? She hadn't had the kunai in her hand before she did the Shunshin but did when the movement ended. That could only mean one thing.

If she could come out of the Shunshin perfectly fine and holding a weapon ready to attack, then she had somehow lessened the tunnel vision he was experiencing.

In a moment of genius, or stupidity, he remembered that he had more weights sealed in a scroll he carried on his person.

'What are you doing?' Mei asked curiously, seeing the boy strap more weights to his legs and arms.

'I'm putting more weights on so I can see what the hell is going on when I use the jutsu', Naruto replied, being able to barely stand properly. He had learnt the hard way that if he only increased the weights on his legs, then the rest of his body gets unbalanced and he couldn't even walk without falling over. As such, every time he increased the weights, he had to do it across all of them.

This time however when he executed the jutsu again, Naruto grinned momentarily, having forcibly slowed himself enough. The incredibly uncomfortable feeling of his stomach lurching was still ever-present. He could see the burst of water around him, splashing everywhere; could see himself move at unimaginable speeds and he could see the tree getting ever closer.

Right before he slammed into said tree.

'Fuck!' he cursed, rubbing the giant lump that was surely forming on his head.

'Language', Mei admonished him lightly. They may be shinobi but she was still a lady. There was no reason for a boy to use such words in front of her. Even so, she could see the boy was improving right before her eyes.

'Sorry', the boy mumbled, before

Albeit that's not how she would have solved the problem of not knowing what was happening, she couldn't deny that it was effective. He would eventually have to undo his improvised tactic but by then he would have understood the mechanics of the jutsu.

He still doesn't know what to do with the water he was standing on, but perhaps expecting that of a genin was too much to ask without giving him some hints. Even her team couldn't figure it out and they are by far smarter than him.

Another hour later, and Naruto could finally say he had started understanding what was happening. It wasn't that he even needed to mould chakra and direct it in his body. The jutsu was somehow designed in a way - or at least Mei's method was – that chakra burst through his system without even needing to verbalise the jutsu.

He had wondered why some people yell out their techniques when others don't. Granted, he was usually among the first group because that was what he learnt from the academy, but Zabuza and Kakashi's battle showed him differently.

Real ninja after all, don't give their opponents the advantage by screaming out their techniques names before doing them. It was Tobirama's memoire that explained it however. It wasn't that most ninja do it by habit, but that most jutsu included a verbal seal after the last one, to be able to do them.

Experienced shinobi however, can eliminate the need to verbalise them after sufficient training. Shinobi like Itachi Uchiha who was rumoured to be able cast genjutsu without even needing hand signs.

In this case, his chakra started moulding as soon as he starts the sequence, and after the Snake seal, it was like the chakra wanted to burst out from his system immediately.

His surroundings warped around him as if he was looking from the bottom of a round glass, his legs moved so quickly that he didn't feel like they were moving, despite knowing better. Seconds passed and he came out of his warped reality only to see the tree inches from his nose.

'Shit!' His augmented senses snapped back to normal and he applied a hasty layer of chakra to his feet, just only able to stop stumbling forwards, perhaps only a few centimetres away from his nose smashing right into the rough bark.

Blue eyes widened in joyful realisation. He had travelled two hundred meters to the tree, and kept his balance.

'Yatta!' Naruto exclaimed, overjoyed at the first sign of progress.

Now the next step was to figure out what the fuck the Snake seal was doing in the Shunshin.

Mei's surprised teal eyes focused at what the boy had done, albeit instinctively and unknowingly. Her temporary student cut off the chakra to his extremities, only pushing it towards his feet, forcefully cutting the jutsu off before it was completed, thereby stopping himself from crashing as he came out of it. It had taken her team days of practising with it to even realise this could be done.

And all that when he hadn't even learned it properly yet. Still, watching the boy attempt a completely new jutsu – one with her own unique variation of chakra moulding – and make progress right in front of her eyes in a matter of two hours, she couldn't help but feel that Naruto Uzumaki would be someone very dangerous one day.


End file.
